Zero 2: The Never Ending War
by ZRO4825
Summary: Years after the original Reploid Wars ended, a new war began, and this time, X and Zero weren't around to stop it. The aftermath left humans enslaved to Reploids. Cussing, adult humor situations. Doesn't follow MMZ games.
1. The NewComer

Zero and company are owned by Capcom, not me.  
  
The Newcomer  
  
Date:2134 A.D. Subject:Zero2 Security level: Classified  
  
The young man walked down the hall as if he knew where he was going. Truth was, he didn't even know where he was at the immediate moment.  
"Isn't it wonderful?" he mused to himself. "You try to help some people out and they decide that since you're here to help, you can do all the work. Stuck exploring a cave. Ha. I came to help with the fighting. Not explore some stupid cave that might have some sort of hidden ancient building in it. Sheesh." He was a tall person, a little over six feet, but still taller than most people in this day and age. He had long blond hair that came down to his ankles. He also had a sword strapped across his back.  
He continued to walk down the hall until he came to what appeared to be a dead end.  
"Dead end at that. Great. See Seero. You told yourself not to get into this mess. You were happy right where you were, but noooo. You had to go help the people who were at war with the Reploids that have taken over the world. Not that you really had a choice, seeing as you were taken with all the other kids whose parents decided that they were tired of being stuck with the Reploids." He turned to go and as he did so he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A piece of metal seemed to gleam in the corner of the cave. "What have we here?" He began to rub at the spot trying to see if there was lettering on it of if it was just dirt that seemed to be spelling something out. As he did so a section of the wall swung away. "Well now, what do we have here?" He walked past the door and into the middle of the room. There was virtually no light except for a little green one that appeared to be blinking on the other side of the room. As he walked in the door shut of it's own accord. "Great. Either it opens back up when I want out or I die of starvation and asphyxiation."  
Suddenly the lights in the room came on. A feminine metallic voice seemed to come from somewhere above him. "Lights activated. Booting up system."  
"System? There's a computer in here somewhere? I thought all of them had been taken when the Human-Reploid war started."  
"Apparently not ,young man. This one can't be moved any ways," an older, masculine voice sounded out.  
Seero turned and pulled the sword out at the same time. He didn't find anyone there, though. "Who are you?"  
"I doubt if you would know who I am but I will tell you anyway. I was known as Dr.Light. Now, though, I am just a program that takes up residence in this computer. I do, however, have all of Dr.Light's memories and knowledge so I refer to myself as Dr. Light. It simplifies matters. What kind of turmoil is Sigma creating now?"  
"How did you know it was Sigma? Who's Sigma?" Seero looked surprised. He lowered his sword and relaxed. "Can't you show yourself somehow?"  
"I suppose I could work my way around to that. Watch the wall behind you." Seero turned around to face the indicated wall. Part it began to turn so that the keyboard and monitor of a very large system came into view. "You do know how to work one of these don't you?" Dr. Light asked.  
"Of course." He began to approach the keyboard. "Was there something you specifically wanted me to do?" He looked up at the monitor and noticed the face that had appeared there. "Thank you. It's much more comforting to at least have a face to talk to even if it is part of a computer program."  
"I figured as much. You don't need to look up anything at all. I am going to show you some of the destruction that Sigma caused the last five times he caused trouble." Dr. Light then began to show him a series of small clips of the terror that had been Sigma's wars.  
"It appears he was stopped all six times. Who stopped him?"  
"Two creations."  
"Creations?"  
"You're interrupting. It's rude. One of these was mine. He was called Mega Man X. I created him before my death. I was forced to put him into a capsule to check all of his systems due to the fact that I would not live to see the completion of the checks. Dr. Cain, who managed to find my lab as well, then unearthed X. He was a great colleague. I managed to get him to do the same thing so that I did so that I would be able to access his knowledge of the Reploids. We also did not tell X of my computerized existence, at least not until we deemed it necessary. Well, anyway, to continue the story. He resurrected my lab and uncovered X. X was then activated. I gave him the ability to think and decide for himself, therefore making him nearly human. I did, however, install a system that would allow him to fight should he decide to. Cain then began to look at his systems and began making replicas of X, although he didn't include the weapons system that I gave X. Then he ran into a problem. Some of the Reploids began to think that they were better than humans and didn't need humans to hinder their progress. They went Maverick as it was called. Cain then began to assemble Reploids that were designed, or had decided, to fight the Mavericks. These became the Maverick hunters. X felt that the Maverick movement was his fault and could not be stopped from helping. During this time Sigma became leader of the Maverick Hunters."  
"Then he was originally a good guy?"  
"Yes. Carrying on. They seemed to be having problems with one particular Maverick. Sigma finally went after it one day. They trapped him in an old mine shaft and Sigma went in to take it on in a one-on-one battle. Sigma eventually smashed the Maverick's solar panel. He did lose an arm in the fight but it was later reattached. He, however, went Maverick several months later. The Maverick that he had defeated was reprogrammed and put in charge of the Maverick Hunters. He was known by the name Zero. He and X eventually defeated all of Sigma's plans."  
"You said two creations but you only claimed to create one. Who was the other creation?"  
"Zero was. He was, unfortunately, created by my archenemy Dr. Wily. He was also however created, somehow, with the same logic system that X had. He then worked his way around to our side."  
"So what's the point of the history lesson?"  
"I am willing to help you defeat Sigma. It did have something to do with the history lesson. After the wars with Sigma I began to secretly create a battle suit designed after Zero but made to be used with a human." A section of the wall slid away and revealed a case that appeared to be fronted by glass. Seero knew that it couldn't have been glass since glass would have broken in all the earthquakes between when it was created and now. A suit of armor stood in the case. The helmet was white with two red wings going up the sides and ending in points near the back. The chest armor had massive shoulder protection and had two green jewels set in it. The arms and legs seemed to be massive in comparison to the rest of the body. Red and white seemed to be the theme of the armor with some gold trim.  
"That's very nice but what does it have to do with our war?"  
"I was thinking that since you found my lab I would give you the opportunity to become the defender of your people."  
"Defender?!"  
"The suit that you see in front of you, designed after Zero's original specifications, is designed to be worn by a human who has been converted into a Reploid of sorts. It isn't tried but it is safe. I designed it myself."  
"I'll do it."  
"You don't seem to have thought about it at all."  
"I don't need to. If I had to think about it I wouldn't be a fighter."  
"True. Very true. If it is your wish then I will need to put you into a bit of a coma." A section of the floor popped up and turned into a table of sorts. "This will only make you comatose so that I can convert you into what you need to be in order to use the suit. And I warn you, the procedure does take some time."  
"So what exactly will you be doing to me?" Seero asked as he headed toward the table.  
"I will, to put it simply, be turning you into a machine with human emotions, a human mind, and a human's view of life. You will be a Reploid but you will not be able to think of humans as inferior since you will essentially be human except in body. This will allow you to make better decisions and will make it so that you cannot be affected by the Sigma virus."  
"Sigma Virus?"  
"You can't go Maverick."  
"Okay. Let's get on with it. But I do have a few more questions."  
"Ask away, dear boy."  
"What'll happen to my hair? And do I get to keep my own identity?"  
"As for your hair, that is something that will throw Sigma for an absolute loop. If you put on that armor you will look exactly like Zero did. Sigma could never understand Zero. Zero was the last of Wily's creations and Wily hated the rest of humanity. He figured that giving Zero the ability to think on his own would give him a greater combat ability than Wily's other robots had. He didn't think that Zero would eventually figure out that what he was doing was wrong. But Zero did and that brought him to our side. Sigma couldn't figure out what went wrong with Zero and it eventually drove him nuts. And as for keeping your identity, that will not be a problem. You will be known as Zero in the field. That will keep Sigma nuts for a little longer than if he thought you were originally human. You will keep your own thought processes but I will give you access to Zero's memories as well."  
Seero was lying on the table now. "Well then, as I said. Let's get this over with."  
  
X stands a distance away, madness glaring in his eyes. His arm cannon is also glowing. "X. Don't do this. You've fought against the Mavericks all your life. Why would you want to become one of them? You don't need to go through with this." Zero also stands at the ready with his saber in one hand. "I think you're wrong Z. I think this has been coming to the humans for a long time. I have fought their battle against Sigma long enough. It's about time I got something in return. "You've been getting their thanks for as long as we've been battling X. You should know. It was you who took out Sigma the first time. It was you who took him out four times versus the once that I took him out. You got all of their thanks X. You got their gratitude." "Gratitude? Why would I care about their gratitude? Gratitude is nothing. I was never once thanked personally by any human. They were all too scared of Reploids to come near me. All except for the human Hunters." X raised his arm cannon toward the building that Zero stood in front of. "This is their repayment for the gratitude that they showed me." X fired a fully powered up shot at the building, intending to destroy it. Zero dashed in front of the building and took the shot in the chest. It blew him backwards but he recovered his feet before touching the ground. The plating on his chest armor was gone. X grinned. "Well Z. I should have known that I would have to take you out in order to carry on. Let's have it then."  
"No, X. I don't wanna do this."  
"Then you will die."  
Zero brought his wrist communicator online. "All hunter units. Evacuate this vicinity immediately. I don't care if you have to grab humans and teleport them out. Just get them out immediately."  
"Roger sir. All units moving out."  
X still grinned. "So you think that moving the humans out of this area will save them. Nice try Z."  
"I'm sorry it had to come to this X." Zero brought his saber up again. And charged. X had not anticipated Zero to act so quickly. Zero ran his saber straight through X's chest armor just as X managed to fire one last shot into his chest. Zero held on to his sword though and managed to pull it out as he flew away from X. He stood back up and came up to X who was still trying to recover from the saber attack. "I am truly sorry." As X fell to the ground Zero was surprised. He had figured it would have taken more to take out X. He brought his communicator back up.  
"Area secured. Return the humans and bring in a crew to retrieve X."  
"Roger sir. Executing orders."  
"Really. Zero. You. would think. that. I am. gone. that easily?"  
Zero had already put his saber up. As he turned he realized that he was too late to save himself. He could, however, save the humans who lived in this area. His face showed no emotion. He could see and hear X's cannon charging. When X tried to dash at him and fire he slipped around X and held him from behind.  
"My power generator is far too damaged for repair X. It doesn't really matter though. I took out Vile's ride armor and you're probably not too much more powerful, even if you have gone Maverick. I'm sorry X, but this is the way it will have to be."  
X didn't realize what Zero was talking about until he heard the energy being gathered and saw Zero's arms start to glow. He then realized what was going on and gave up.  
The fireball engulfed the entire street.  
  
Seero sat up on the table. His face was sweaty and his breathing was hard.  
"What was that?"  
"That unfortunately, is one of Zero's memories. Also his last."  
"His last?"  
"Yes. He did not survive the explosion. He had performed the same feat once before while taking out one of Sigma's Reploids." Dr. Light seemed willing to explain almost anything sometimes. "Oh, and by the way, I noticed your sword and I made a few adjustment to it."  
Seero reached beck over his shoulder and pulled the blade free from its case. It was still metal but the edges glowed green and there seemed to be a bit of a hum in the air.  
"That's neat."  
"It actually is all energy but I gave it the look of being there so that it would confuse enemies."  
"Good idea. If you don't mind telling me what kind of upgrades and abilities do I have?"  
"For starts you don't have to run if you don't want to. You have jets on the bottom of your feet. I've upgraded that from the original Zero so that you also have jets on your back that can allow you to fly. But you won't have to worry about your hair. I've created the jets so that they use energy instead of fire. You also have the ability to teleport just by thinking about it. You can cling to walls giving you the ability to even stand straight out from them. You can also cling to ceilings, although that one has a limit."  
"A limit?"  
"Stay there long enough and you fall on your head. Probably break your neck in the process considering the wings on your helmet. You can also change your blade to pure energy. It will be stronger that way." An alarm went off as the room went a little red in the corners. "Looks like you'll get the chance to try everything out here soon. Sigma apparently has discovered your friends' hiding place. If you need to contact me just talk. I have a connection with your helmet."  
"Thanks Doc. I'm outta here." And Zero quite promptly teleported out. Doctor Light sighed.  
"Well, at least I know the teleporter works."  
  
The cave seemed to be a bit darker as Zero walked through it. There seemed to be something missing, although he couldn't put his finger on it. Then he realized that he couldn't hear anything either. A Reploid dropped down in front of him. As he stepped backwards he made no sound. The Reploid looked at him as if trying to figure out who he was. Zero was, in turn, irritated.  
"Is there problem here, pal?" Zero said with an edge.  
"You are not authorized to be in this section." The Reploid seemed to be just a common war machine. That made Zero feel a little better. If it wasn't important then it probably wasn't intelligent either. Zero began charging his arm cannon. The robot didn't seem to notice. It decided that Zero needed to hear that he wasn't authorized again. It then realized that half of itself wasn't there anymore. It cursed as it fell and then went silent.  
Zero began walking towards the barracks where he and his friends had been when they got the chance to sit down from exploring the stupid caves. He looked in to find that none of them were there.  
"Well, either they were all carted off or they all died in battle. I'll either find them or avenge them," he thought to himself. He began to walk further, toward the barracks where all the non-fighting humans had stayed. As he walked he noticed that there was almost no activity. "This is odd," he said aloud.  
"What is odd, friend?" Zero turned to find a Reploid whose armor was pure black except for the helmet, which had lines of gold running along the sides. Zero scanned his old memories in order to see if there was anything about this particular Reploid. A clear visor slid down over his eyes from inside the helmet. The tactical readout told him that this robot turned Reploid's name was Bass. It also showed that he was usually accompanied by a dog named Treble.  
"Bass, huh? Maybe I'll turn you into a speaker when I'm done." Zero deliberately brought his arm cannon up to the level of Bass's face. He then just as deliberately let a level 3 shot go. Bass's head flew back and took the rest of him with it. He landed with a great clang on the ground some 10 yards or so away. As he stood up he began mumbling under his breath.  
"OUCH! I hate it when I get careless."  
"You're apparently forgetful as well, Bass."  
"What makes you say that?"  
"Don't tell me that you don't recognize me yet."  
"Whatta ya mean?" Bass stood up and glared at Zero. His eyes went wide. "It can't be. You can't be him. Him and X killed each other. Sigma said so."  
"Sigma can't figure out which end of himself is which."  
"What? What do you mean?" Bass was thoroughly outraged.  
"What I'm saying is that Sigma is an idiot and always has been. And yes, I am alive."  
"Then I'll solve that part of history."  
"Try it." Zero reached back and slowly pulled his blade free of its case. He heard Bass let out a rather shrill whistle. "What in blazes is he trying to do? Shatter my eardrums?"  
Zero noticed that something seemed to be coming out of the darkness of the cavern. Treble slid to a stop next to his master. He took one look at Zero and began to growl. Bass brought his arm up and let a level 3 blast go. Zero disappeared.  
"Where'd he go? Treble, track him." Bass felt something sting his arm. He looked down and saw the cut that went across his upper arm. Zero stood behind him.  
"Want to try again?"  
"Why you. I oughtta-"  
"What you gonna do? Sick your dog on me, Bass?"  
"Treble. Attack." Treble, being the good dog that he was, did try. Zero teleported behind him every time. After using the subterfuge a few times it got boring. Zero reappeared beside Treble and quite promptly picked him up by the scruff of the neck.  
"This is out of your league, mutt. Go back to your master." Zero threw the dog at Bass's feet and began to walk in the direction that he had originally been heading. He heard the charging sound and turned around. "You wanna try again, Bass. Fine. I'll even go easy on you." He put the sword back in it's case. Bass was outraged.  
"You dare to insult me? You.will.PAY! TREBLE! FLIGHT MODE!"  
Zero watched as the dog morphed into an armor of some sort and flew to Bass. Bass put on the armor and began flying upwards. "Deal with this, traitor."  
Zero tilted his head upwards. As he watched Bass he thought of something. "Jets on."  
Bass's face was one of minor fear mixed in with a lot of rage. The two conflicting emotions froze him in place. Zero flew up to hover in front of Bass. He reached out and grabbed Bass by the front of his armor and threw him against the nearest wall. Bass slumped to the floor with a groan. A low whimper seemed to be coming from that direction as well.  
"Oh well. I warned him." Zero turned and began heading for his destination once again.  
"You seem to have grown soft, Zero."  
"Computer. Analyze voice pattern." The visor slid down and began creating the readout. When the analysis was complete Zero almost moved his arm for his sword. "Okay, Sigma. You wanna show yourself so we can finish this now and I don't have to hunt you down later. I'm actually a little surprised that you remember me. I figured you'd be doing your best to forget me."  
"I have nothing to fear from you," Sigma began to materialize in the air in front of Zero. "You were a Maverick once and I can make you one again. Not that I need to. I found someone who was a little bit more powerful."  
"Oh really. Is that so? I didn't think you would ever come up with a new idea."  
"Such weak insults are below you, Zero." As the two bantered they slowly landed back on the ground.  
"You're right. Maybe I should have gone straight into cussing your butt out."  
"But didn't you want to meet my new friend? I'm sure the two of you will get along just fine. After all, you're old friends." Sigma laughed as he disappeared. Another Reploid appeared where Sigma had been standing. A Reploid who seemed hauntingly familiar. As Zero looked at the Reploid his visor slid down to begin working on figuring out the newcomer was. As the display came up finally he heard Dr. Light let out a gasp of surprise.  
"Get out of there, Zero! You can't face him yet!"  
"Got it, Doc." Zero didn't know what Light was so afraid of but as he obeyed and began to teleport out he saw a huge blast fly through the spot where he had just been standing. He saw the lab begin to take shape once more.  
"Who was that?"  
"Someone that I never thought would turn to Sigma's side. It was done before he died and apparently Sigma has done it again. That, my friend, was Mega Man X."  
  
This is my first Fanfic, although I've had it in the works for several years. Comments and critique are appreciated. I might at some point begin to go back and edit this story some, but fo now, I'll leave it up as is. 


	2. A Friend Returns

Yep, you guessed it, I don't own Zero and friends...Capcom does, the lucky bastards...  
  
Ch. 2 A Friend Returns  
  
"You mean to tell me that that was X? But I thought I killed him."  
"I see that you're already beginning to absorb some of Zero's thought's and attitudes."  
"You can tell already, huh? That's nice. At least I know I'm not losing my mind now. I started thinking like that a little while back and I swore I was about to go nuts. I thought you said that I would keep my own identity."  
"I did. You are actually absorbing Zero's thoughts as your own so that you begin to think of Zero's memories as your own."  
"You're beginning to make my head hurt."  
"Let's just say that you are becoming Zero but you will still be yourself."  
"Okay. That works. That isn't quite as bad as all that talk about memories. You'll make my head hurt with that stuff."  
"We will have to see what we can do to rearrange things in this situation."  
As the two talked a blue beam seemed to come down through the ceiling. Mega Man X appeared out of the hazy light, wearing his third set of armor. "So Zero, you thought you could run did you? I think you need to learn to watch your rear a little better. If I hadn't had to wait for the computer to lock onto you I would have been right on your butt. As it is though, this will work well enough. Hello, Light. I hope you've been well."  
"Tolerable, X. Things do get a little boring when you're nothing but a computer program with only Pong to play for several hundred years."  
"Good. I would have hated to put an end to your fun." With that X suddenly held a blue energy saber in his hand. As he dashed towards the console he failed to notice that Zero moved with more speed than he did. A look of surprise crossed his face as the saber flew out of his hand to clatter to the ground.  
"Now you're the one who should look before he does anything X," Zero put his sword up and stood back so he could see X more fully. He realized with a slight start that X was actually a good deal shorter than he himself was. "That armor seems to be getting in your way X. Why don't you try using your ultimate suit against me. It might make it a bit more of a challenge before I dismantle you again."  
X's face and eyes shone with the rage that was building up at Zero's every word. "You. will. DIE TRAITOR!! aaaAAAAGH!" as X screamed he turned back into the beam of light for a moment. When he returned to a solid shape he stood in shining black armor with gold trim. "You think that you can defeat me? You don't stand a chance any more, fool."  
"That's what you think, X."  
The two charged. X fired off several shots while he was charging. Although X had changed into his ultimate armor he was still no match for Light's improved Zero. The two ran into each other and began to grapple for the advantage. The energy built around the two during their tango of death. The air was beginning to crackle when Zero heard Light's voice in his earpiece. "Throw him against the nearest wall. I have a bit of a surprise for Sigma's newest find."  
Zero used X's own strength and promptly threw him across the room. As X hit the wall a field of some sort seemed to extend from it. X screamed and then fell into unconsciousness.  
"What on earth was that, Doc?"  
"It's a neuralizer field. It can render a Reploid completely comatose. Some may take a little longer than others, but it works eventually. It causes severe pain in the meantime."  
"Sounds like my kind of weapon. Will it work on me?"  
"No."  
"Even better."  
"Please bring X to the table. I think it's about time I did something about this Sigma Virus." Zero walked over and picked X up easily. He carried him to the table that had slid up while Light had been talking. As he set X down beams came over the table. "I will be busy for a while so why don't you go visit your human friends?"  
"Okay, but just one question for you."  
"Fire away, dear boy."  
"Why was that so easy?"  
"I'd say that Sigma didn't use X's old parts, I'd say he just used what he found of him, and then put the rest back together with his own parts. There was enough of X to give him all of his abilities, but not enough to give him back his full strength. That is one of my problems. I'll need to rebuild him to bring him back up to par."  
"Okay, that's all I needed to know."  
  
Seero, as he was still known in his human (at least human-looking) form, was walking through what they considered to be the main street of their underground camp. Things certainly looked a little run down after the battle with the Mavericks. He wasn't entirely sure if there was anybody here anymore.  
"Hello! Anybody still here?" Seero knew he couldn't use his visor to scan for anything in this form so he was forced to resort to using his 'normal' eyes. He did realize that he still could look at things with a certain zooming capability, although it had its limits. He picked up a bit of movement from the corner of one of the buildings. As he drew closer he realized that it was one of the other human explorers, Zenton.  
"Seero? Is that you, bro?"  
"Number one, yes, it's me. Number two, when are you going to quit calling me that?"  
"As soon as I figure out another word to call you that you won't threaten to kill me for."  
"Are there any of those left?"  
"I think I missed a few back there somewhere."  
"If you find them let me know. Have you found anyone else around here?"  
"Not a soul. It's as if they all vanished into thin air."  
Seero was beginning to have his own ideas. "Dr. Light. Are you there?"  
"Yes, Seero?"  
"Is it okay if I let anyone else in on who I am?"  
"It is if you would trust them with your life. Either that or get used to wearing your armor constantly."  
"Thank you."  
Seero turned and looked at Zenton.  
"I think I know what happened to them. They were taken by Mavericks."  
"Mavericks? What's a Maverick?"  
"The robots that we've been fighting. They're called Mavericks. I recently stumbled upon an old lab in one of the caves. I discovered a great deal there. I'm a robot now, but I'm not a Maverick."  
"That's a good thing to know. I was getting a little jumpy knowing that we're just humans and we're up against robots. But you don't look like a robot."  
"That's because I'm in my human form at the moment. I'm a little bigger in my robot form. Let's go see what we can uncover in the lab." Seero took Zenton with him and walked back to the entrance to the lab. The door opened immediately for him.  
"That was a pretty neat trick there, Seero." Zenton seemed to be a little overwhelmed.  
"Ah, Seero. There you are. I take it that this is the person whom you were talking to earlier." Light's face came up on the screen.  
"Yes, Doctor. This is Zenton. He's one of the other human explorers. He and I must have gotten lucky. We were both out exploring when the Mavericks attacked. Are there any sort of weapons you can give him? Something like mine?"  
"I don't have any more suits, but I can turn him into a robot like you."  
"That would probably be a good idea. Is it okay with you, Zenton?"  
"Fly that one by me again. I didn't catch it the first time around."  
"Dr. Light is offering to turn you into a robot like me."  
"You mean human-looking? Sure. I could go for that. Is it safe though?" . "I'm here aren't I? Do I look any different to you?"  
"Not really. A little bigger and definitely not as out of shape, but not too much different."  
"You said what?!?" Seero asked as he turned to face Zenton. Light chuckled a little as the two began to banter back and forth.  
"Okay, you two, that's enough for now," Light interrupted them a few minutes later. "Zenton?"  
"I guess it would be okay, wouldn't it?" Zenton replied, turning to face Seero. "I mean you look just the same as you did before. But you said something about another form that you had. What did you mean by that?"  
"Hold on a moment and I'll show you." Zero thought for less than a second and was encased in his armor. He now had to look down at his friend. "This is what I was talking about. Would you be able to make another one in time, Doc?"  
"It would take me a few days, but yes I would be able to make another one in time. Most of the time would be deciding what his armor would look like."  
"You mean he'll be able to customize his? Why didn't I get to do that?"  
"I already had your armor made. It's kind of hard to unmake armor. Most of what I'll be doing is seeing what he wants it to look like and taking away needless additions that'll do nothing but get in the way. But I will need to turn him into a robot first."  
"Okay. What he's saying in other words, Zen, is that he's going to turn you into a robot first and then you two will decide what your armor will look like. In the meantime I'll look for other survivors while you're off in la-la land.  
Zenton questioned Seero a little while longer and then accepted what was going to happen.  
"Okay. See you when I come around Seero."  
Zero walked toward the front door of the lab and took his saber out and took up a position facing the door.  
"What on earth are you doing, Zero? I thought you said you were going to go look for the other survivors." Dr. Light was once again speaking through the earpiece.  
"I changed my mind. I'm standing guard and since you probably have some sort of system that can alert me if there is someone coming down the corridor outside I thought I'd take a little while and sift through my memories that don't belong to me."  
"That is probably a good idea, Zero. X can probably answer any questions you have."  
"I take it you figured out the virus and corrected it then."  
"I have."  
"What about reassembling him?"  
"I've got that done enough to make him battle capable, but I think I'll keep X physically comatose for a while. You can communicate with him the same way you are with me right now."  
"Thank you."  
"You're welcome."  
Zero stood and began to wander through his memories. His mind first wandered back to his first self-destruction.  
"You really should have seen what was visible through Vile's helmet when he realized what you were doing. His face tried to twist five zillion different directions at once. It was very funny."  
"I'm glad you're back online, X. I was beginning to get a bit worried there. I got all the right memories but for some odd reason I couldn't find the right people." 


	3. Attack

Once again, if you weren't sure after the first two chapters, Zero isn't mine! He's Capcom's...  
  
Ch.3  
Attack  
  
"So what exactly was the deal with all those missions, X?"  
"The first time we were just trying to take out the leader of the Maverick movement. After that it got personal. While I was busy hunting down Maverick hideouts I discovered that more leaders like Chill Penguin and the others had surfaced. After I fought and destroyed a couple of them Dr. Cain was contacted by a group of Mavericks calling themselves the X- hunters. They had all of your parts except for the control chip."  
"My control chip? I don't remember any of that."  
"That's probably because you weren't online at the time. You weren't even available to help until I was ready to go at it with Sigma and his copycat of you. Then you blew through the door and his mimic. It was actually kind of funny. I didn't think so at the time but it was later."  
"You seem to be easily amused now days X. My memories don't show you as being half as happy."  
"People change. So do Reploids for that matter. I was bound to unwind sooner or later."  
Dr. Light interrupted their reverie. "I hate to break this up but we've got company. And lots of it. You're going to pay attention to the door, Zero. You're going to be reactivated, X, but I'm going to hold you back until Zero needs help. Got it?"  
"Right, Doc." Both were so used to accepting orders from the doctor, X from habit and Seero from Zero's memories that both responded in unison.  
"Hey, Doc. Is Zenton going to be able to help with this one?"  
"Probably not, Zero."  
"Oh, well. He'll be disappointed that he missed the party though."  
Zero turned his attention to the door in front of him. He could hear the pounding of several Reploids on the other side. He merely stood there as the door flew open. Sigma was the first to step through. A mistake that he was not likely to forget anytime soon.  
Zero wondered for a moment what had possessed Sigma to take the lead. Cockiness or just plain carelessness? It was a thought that had but a moments notice before Sigma's arm left its proper position. As it fell to the floor Sigma stepped back, the pain playing tricks with his face. It wasn't but a moment before he backed out of the door and sent the other five or six reploids in instead. Zero realized that he could already recognize a few of them. They all stopped when they realized that he had not taken a single step backwards while they approached the area directly in front of him.  
"What have you done with X, traitor?" A purple Reploid with a shoulder mounted cannon, labeled Vile by the visor, was doing the speaking.  
"Traitor? That's a new one. I haven't been called that since last time I ran into one of you idiots." Bass was clearly not happy about coming up against Zero again. "What's the matter, Bass? You look like you're afraid of something. Does the fact that you got your butt kicked last time we met have something to do with that?"  
"You are being questioned on the whereabouts of another Reploid, traitor. You are required to speak or you will be blown to scrap on the spot." Vile seemed to be even more warlike than before.  
"You're beginning to irritate me, Vile. That's not a good thing to do. If you want to try to blast me you can just go ahead and try. I wouldn't keep my hopes up too high, though."  
All of the Mavericks began to fire at once. When the smoke cleared there was no sign of Zero. Sigma's face took on an irritated look. All of the other Mavericks began to laugh at Zero's stupidity in the face of their obviously more powerful weapons. Sigma did not look happy, however.  
"He's not dead, you fools. Find him, immediately." Sigma was not a happy camper. The loss of the same arm that had been taken off by Zero before might have had something to do with his irritation.  
Zero, in the meantime, had put his sword up and was busy standing on the wall about ten feet above their heads. He was amazed at how dumb they could be. "I thought these guys were supposed to be really tough. All it would take to confuse them would be to start teleporting all over the place. Bass and Vile seem to have some sort of intelligence but it seems that the only one who has any real amount of brains is Sigma. And that's not really saying all that much. This may get kind of fun, though."  
"Hey, Zero. Leave some for me."  
"Fine, X. I will."  
Zero teleported down from the wall to end up in front of the group. "Hey, guys, I told you it wouldn't work, but no. You had to go ahead and try to shoot me. Now I'm afraid that I'm going to have to rearrange at least a few of you." Zero reached back over his shoulder and slowly pulled the pulsating blade from it's home. As the blade came free several of the smiles on the faces of the Mavericks slid into looks of fear. They all took a moment to look around and make sure they still had their friends and then began to get ready to actually fight instead of trying to overwhelm him with firepower. Storm Eagle stepped out to the front first. He nodded in acknowledgement of Zero. Being a bird had given him a certain sense of propriety.  
"I will be the first to face you in single combat, Zero. I take it that you have no objections?"  
"None whatsoever." Zero backed away from the bird and took up his fighting stance.  
Storm Eagle brought his arm cannon up and let loose with one of his tornadoes. Zero sidestepped the shot and ran at Storm. The Maverick launched himself into the air, sure of the fact that Zero was restricted to ground movement. He stopped and stared as Zero launched himself into the air to hover in front of the awestruck reploid. Zero then quite casually swept his saber across the space where Storm Eagle's midsection was residing. The Maverick's eyes lost the light that had been in them as the two separated parts fell to the floor with a resounding clang. Bass seemed even more unnerved. Zero calmly flew back down to the floor.  
"Is this is what you think of as a challenge? If it is then I think I'll go home for a while. This is boring." Vile's eyes began to glow underneath his helmet, red with suppressed fury.  
"You will die, Zero. Get him," Vile yelled as he launched himself across the space between him and the crimson one. Zero easily caught Vile by his cannon, spun and threw him into the rest of the Mavericks. Zero also knew that there was no way to tackle all of them at the same time.  
"Hey, Doc. I could use X about now."  
"He's on his way, Zero."  
Zero sliced the arm of another Reploid, one that his visor couldn't label. He turned to slice at another one and watched as the Maverick flew across the room with a plasma trail.  
"Well, X. It's nice to see you can use that stuff on them too." Zero grinned as X walked over from the spot where he had slid down the wall. The Reploids were all staring, although Sigma looked as if on the verge of apoplexy.  
"This isn't the last time we will meet, Zero." Sigma then turned into a beam of light and disappeared, leaving his arm behind.  
"Hey, Zero," X yelled. "Do you think we should send his arm back to him?"  
"No. If he wants it that bad, he can come and get it."  
"Good point. Why waste the energy if he doesn't want it?"  
"My thoughts exactly."  
"Hey, Doc, what's to stop Sigma from coming back?" Zero asked the ceiling.  
"Well, my teleportation shield should do the trick. Or at least it would have if I'd have thought about turning it on." Light answered, even managing to sound somewhat ashamed of himself for not thinking of it earlier.  
"And how are you going to stop him from teleporting to just outside the shield and walking in?"  
"Autocannons."  
"That were also not turned on?"  
"Correct." Light answered as X began to double over laughing.  
"Well, Doc," Zero stated after a good chuckle, "just goes to show, you may be a computer, but underneath it you're still human."  
"I have a perfectly plausible excuse." Light replied.  
"And that is?"  
"I was multi-tasking."  
"And that made your computerized mind forget something?"  
"My dear boy, let's see you manage to fix one reploid, and basically create another one, all while trying to watch all of your security cameras, and keep track of one rather lively reploid. Believe you me, Windows couldn't handle this much info at once."  
"Ha, you could have had me fooled with all your complaints."  
"Please, I have quite some intelligence. I run my own OS and wouldn't use anything less."  
X looked up from his spot rolling on the floor. "At least now I have a sense of humor to appreciate this." And he promptly went back to rolling and laughing hysterically. 


	4. Practice

Uh oh...I think I'm out of witty little quips to put here...Zero's Capcom's...so ummm...yeah...  
  
Ch. 4  
Practice  
  
Zenton was busy talking and arguing with Dr. Light about his armor. Zero and X had gone back to talking about the memories. Some of them didn't seem to fit into what they were.  
"It seems like all of my memories are tainted around the edges with a feeling verging on rage or possibly insanity," Zero was telling X.  
"That was probably the results of Zero technically being a Maverick." X responded slowly.  
"Say what?! But, I thought he was a Hunter."  
"He was one of the best. But even that couldn't cover the fact that he was a Maverick inside. He hated humans for the way they treated Reploids. He didn't realize that compared to a Reploid mind, a human can be pretty dense. That's not saying I haven't met a stupid Reploid, it's just that I haven't seen very many humans take a good look at both sides of anything. Zero knew that he was a Maverick and he did his best to rid himself of that fact. He couldn't however, until the day when Sigma finally managed to infect me. When that happened he knew then why I had always been so serious. I knew that if I had gone Maverick, he would be the only one who could stop me. I may not be the best Hunter on earth, but I have an almost unmatched amount of power. The thought of that power being under Sigma's control scared the crap out of me. Zero found out why I had always protected the humans. If I hadn't fought, I would have been easier to control. That was what spurred me on to help the humans. Zero discovered that. Then the fight happened. You know the rest."  
"That I do. We blew sky high and what happened in between is what started the Human-Reploid War. How long has it been since you and Zero last took out Sigma?"  
"That depends. What year is it now? Light never had the chance to tell me."  
"23XX."  
"It's been somewhere around two hundred years then," X said rather calmly.  
"That means that Sigma has had control over the humans for about seventy-five to fifty years. We lost track of a few years toward the end. Only a few humans truly know what year it is. Those who are found to have any knowledge of the actual date are put to death as soon as Sigma gets a hold of them. Most of the humans are kept in small communities, each with its own personal group of Mavericks to enforce Sigma's iron-clad fist."  
"Titanium," X interrupted. "Sigma would never use anything less than titanium."  
"What makes you say that?" Zero looked slightly confused. The two were mortal enemies and X wasn't exactly on a personal level with the head Maverick.  
"Nobody knows the true extent of my power or yours. We do know, however, that I can blow a hole through a steel wall likes it's nothing and you can probably do as good, if not better. Sigma knows that. He wouldn't risk another life on anything less than titanium. He's too wary for that. He doesn't know how to make Dr. Light's Titanium-X alloy. That gives us the advantage when it comes to armor. It's the only reason Sigma is so bulky. If he didn't have to use so much titanium he would probably have been much quicker. But we have the Titanium-X alloy for our armor. That's what gives us our power. Our armor is at least as good as the armor that Sigma wears. Quite possibly better." X was a gold mine of information, Zero discovered quite quickly.  
"Well, in any case. There have been a number of uprisings among the humans and the occasional Reploid going un-Maverick, so to speak. Then about ten years or so ago there were a bunch of humans who took advantage of the fact that their village was poorly guarded and managed to overrun the lone Maverick who was left to watch and alert the others. Somehow they managed to overrun him and put him off-line before he could make a noise. They proceeded to hide for the next however many years. Then we were discovered. Zenton and I managed to get lucky. We were exploring the nearby caves when the Mavericks struck."  
"So that's how you found Dr. Light and became Zero. Interesting."  
"Hey, X. Follow me. I've got a bit of an idea." The two walked over to where Zenton was standing arguing with Light.  
"I cannot make your armor out of crystal, Zenton. It would be much too heavy, not to mention the fact that it would break at the first contact with a plasma blast." Light seemed to be rather irritated.  
"Hey, Doc," Zero broke in. "What if you were to use the Titanium-X alloy and just make it look like crystal. That should satisfy Zen." Zenton nodded in agreement. Light seemed satisfied as well.  
"That's actually a good idea, Zero. I'll get to work on it right away. You handled the armor very well. I would say that you are most definitely a fighter. Was there by any chance something you wanted?" Light seemed puzzled.  
"Do you know what exactly happened after X and Zero went and lit the sky on fire?"  
"As a matter of fact, I do. I had probes above ground at the time. Sigma's Mavericks who were still loyal started talking to the media as soon as the city had stopped shaking. The people took that as a sign that all the Reploids were going Maverick. Everyone panicked and Sigma stepped back into the picture as head of the Mavericks. It took him a few decades to take over the human race. Even then the war raged on. The people in the countryside fought better than the people in the army had. They used guerilla tactics."  
"Thanks, Doc. For some reason that was bugging me. Would it be okay if we went into the caves for some training?" Light smiled.  
"That actually would be a good idea, Zero. It will give Zenton a chance to accustom himself with his new body. And by the way, did you know that you are a sorcerer, Zenton?" Zenton was actually a bit baffled. "If you search your mind, you will discover that you know all sorts of spells. There never were very many sorcerers."  
Zenton still seemed a bit taken aback. "Whatta ya mean, sorcerer? I think sittin' in that computer knocked you off your rocker, Doc. In any case, I think I'll go with Zero and X. I do feel a little different so I might as well get used to it." Zenton turned and walked to where X and Zero stood. Zero had noticed that there did seem to be the occasional twitch while Zenton walked.  
"We'll be in contact, Doc," Zero added while turning to leave.  
"Remember to put your weapons on their practice settings. I really don't feel like putting any of you three back together again." Light seemed almost humorous about the whole thing. Zero laughed.  
"Okay, Doc. I'll warn the children to be careful with their toys." He then turned and walked out.  
  
The three of them found a fairly open cave a little ways down the cavern the lab was in. Zero walked in and noticed a beam of sunlight was coming in through a hole in the ceiling. Zero teleported up to check on it. As he stood on the ceiling he stooped up to look through it. He then looked down to look at his friends.  
"This looks like as good a place as any. We might as well start. That hole will give us ventilation in case we need it as well. I have a feeling that none of us want to be breathing plasma vapor anytime soon." X and Zenton grinned and nodded in agreement. "I told Light that I'd remind you to set your weapons on their practice settings. I think we better take care of that now." Zero reached back over his shoulder and pulled the blade free. Although it was actually an energy blade, it still made the characteristic hissing sound as it came out of the sheath. He turned the power setting down. He looked and noticed that Zenton was holding a massive axe on the end of a handle about five feet long. It was one solid piece. "Why did you choose an axe, Zen?"  
Zenton grinned. "The axe has always been my favorite weapon. This one has a little something extra. It uses an ultra-sonic vibration to shear away almost any material. If that gets knocked off-line, well, I guess I'll just have to rely on brute strength. That's the other good thing about it."  
Zero and X laughed while they listened to the axe hum. "That's the best it's going to get so get used to the humming."  
Zero stepped back and began to issue instructions. "Okay, guys. I just want one thing to be remembered here. This is practice, so please don't kill me or each other." X and Zen laughed as they also backed away. "Here goes nothing." Zero teleported out of sight. X and Zen looked at the spot where he had just been and then at each other.  
X started charging. "I guess that's the signal to start." CLANG! "Whooaa." BANG.  
X hit the wall hard as Zero landed a kick to his head and sent him flying. Zero landed heavily and was immediately hit with a counter-blast that X had fired while still stuck in the wall. Zenton in the meantime stood and watched the two as they went at it. He then stopped to think about what Light had told him in the lab. He decided to try one of the spells. As he muttered the word under his breath he saw X and Zero starting to slow down a bit. He decided to try a couple more. He warped to the space in between the two and swung his axe in a wide circle. He hit both of them in the chest, knocking X further into the wall and sending Zero for a fairly long flight. Knocking a Reploid that's over six feet tall several dozen yards with one swipe was pretty spectacular. Zenton then allowed them to go back to their usual speed. Zero looked a little stunned. X was still trying to get out of the wall. Zero stood up and picked up his saber that he had lost in mid-flight..  
"That was impressive. How'd you manage that one?"  
"Apparently Dr. Light was right. You two just got the effect of one of my spells. Then again, You felt one of them, I felt two other ones."  
"Whatever. Just keep the one that slowed us down out of it, if you would be so kind."  
"Oh, come on. That was the fun one. I've got a bit of a question. Is X gonna be able to get out of that wall?"  
"I think he'll manage it eventually. If he doesn't we'll just have to go yank him out of it." The two stood and watched as X finally managed to unceremoniously pull himself out of the wall and land on his head. He flipped up to his feet and walked toward the other two. He then brought his X-buster up and pointed it at the space between the two. He had also changed into his first set of armor. He let loose one of the giant hot pink blasts and managed to nail both Zero and Zenton at once. As the two flew back, both blinked out of sight as X tried to keep his eye on them. He realized that once again he was gonna get hit and teleported to a few feet away. He stood and watched as the two came together at the place where he had been just a moment before. He brought Chill Penguin's weapon on-line and promptly froze both of them. Or so he thought. As he walked up, the ice around Zenton began to melt. X stopped and stared as the ice melted into a puddle while Zenton stood there. After all of the ice melted Zenton straightened out and shook his head from side to side. Zero broke his ice container a moment later.  
He stopped and stared for a moment. "That was neat. I don't think I've ever been frozen before." He turned and looked at X and then swung his axe back for a swing that would have knocked Sigma's Kaiser form off of his feet. X watched as Zero grabbed the axe a little ways below the blade and used it to throw Zenton towards the ceiling. Zenton hit headfirst and went through the ceiling. He didn't fall back down immediately. Zero and X were going at it when Zenton flew back down in between them with blinding speed. "Hey, guys. We've got a bit of a problem. There seems to be an army of Mavericks above our heads and if we're still fighting when they get above us they're going to be able to hear every word. We really should get back to the lab." The other two nodded in agreement and they all three teleported out. 


	5. Spring the Trap

Zero belongs to capcom, as do any other characters taken from their series, everyone else in this story, is MINE!!!  
  
Ch.5  
Spring the Trap  
  
"You are sure that there is no way that it could have a been just a bunch of normal Reploids out for a march or something?" Light seemed to be adamant on the fact that they didn't check to see if it was a column of Mavericks there was no way to be sure that they were Mavericks. Zero sighed.  
"Doc, in our time, the only Reploids there are, other than Mavericks, are us. Any Maverick that goes Hunter is destroyed immediately by his fellows."  
"Then the only thing you can do is go and destroy the entire column."  
"By ourselves?" Zenton was confused. "You want us to go take out an entire column of Mavericks when I don't even have armor yet?"  
X cleared his throat before Light could get another word in. "We could liberate the nearby town and distract them from the direction they're heading." X outlined his plan to them. Light was laughing with delight when he finished.  
"Get to it, boys." He said when he finally quit.  
  
The normal townspeople all watched as the tall man walked through their midst. They all knew each other by sight if not name, but no one knew this person. He walked straight through their town and headed straight for the local store. He asked a few questions and left the store to head down a side alley. Not a one of them saw as he suddenly disappeared.  
  
The town held a general meeting every night while the Reploids were on the outer rings of their patrol. The man they deferred to was known as Toronto. Some said it was the name of one of the ancient cities, but none were very sure. They only knew that the young man was the only one who had the guts to lead them, not to mention the brains. What the rest didn't know is that he could sense their minds. That was how he knew exactly when to call off the meeting. He could tell when the Reploids were coming back.  
Everyone could tell that something strange was going on. They all had seen this man but only the storekeeper had actually been able to get a good look at him. Some thought he might be an angel and were discussing this at length when Toronto called them to order.  
"Yes, we all saw him. No, I'm not going to do anything about it. He may very well have been a Reploid in disguise for all we know. We don't know what his intentions were. I will try to contact him next time he appears," Toronto's voice was one that made you wonder if he weren't perhaps somehow connected to the bowels of the earth itself. His words rumbled across the space of the room where they met.  
Suddenly a new presence intruded upon Toronto's mind. "Perhaps I could show you the man you saw earlier today. I might even be able to give away part of his thoughts. For a price." The voice seemed to come out of the air itself. No one knew where the voice came from except for Toronto, who only had a vague notion. Toronto got up from where he sat. He was huge. He suddenly held an enormous broadsword in his hand. The blade itself seemed to shine with an almost holy light.  
"Show yourself or be harmed," came the rumbling threat.  
"You mean to tell me you've had that thing in your pocket the whole time and you still haven't gotten rid of the Reploids? Geez, it's no wonder we humans are always in trouble. Most of the people who can fight won't and all the people who can't fight get in the way of those of us who are willing to. Oi."  
"I said show yourself."  
"Just as soon as you put your knife up, big boy."  
The broadsword disappeared as quickly as it had come and Toronto seemed only to get more impatient. "Well?"  
Seero chose to discard his armor and jumped down from the ceiling. He landed directly in the middle of their circle. The people gasped and collectively moved back a few steps. Seero didn't bother to stand up straight. He merely crouched right as he landed and froze in that position. Toronto was the first to break the silence. "You're the one who went through the town earlier today. Why?" Toronto seemed offended for some reason.  
"So, you're the leader of this community?" Seero asked.  
"Yes. Why?"  
"I'm offering you the chance for freedom." A gasp went through the room. One of the older men in the back began yelling.  
"Just how do you expect to do that, kid?"  
"You ever heard of a Reploid, gramps?" asked Seero, now standing up to his full height.  
"I should hope I have. Had'em looking me over for fifty, sixty years now. All my life in any case."  
"Then you're about to get a shock. You might wanna sit down. Those aren't real Reploids. Those are Reploids who have gone what's known to some as Maverick. I myself am a Reploid. I am not a Maverick."  
"You look awful human to me."  
"Really?" Seero asked with a bit of sarcastic surprise. "You could have fooled me with all of your talk about my possibly being a Reploid spy. But do you believe me?"  
The old man looked at Seero as if judging his soul before the heavenly throne. "Nope. I don't."  
"Then you shall be made to see, as was the one who doubted." With that Seero crouched and jumped straight up into the darkness that hovered above the chamber, yet under the roof. Melodrama had its uses. Zero came down to replace him, now wearing the black armor that once belonged to his imposter. "Now do you believe, old man?"  
"It seems that I would have no choice, seeing as how the evidence stands in the middle of the council circle."  
Zero took off his helmet. "Thank you. I hate arguing with stubborn people, even when they happen to be right. My name is Zero in this form." He flashed back to his true crimson colors. "This is how I am usually colored. I have two friends who help me. One goes by the name of Mega Man X, or just X. The other goes by the name of Zenton."  
Toronto was up like a thunderstorm, sudden in its ferocity. "What do you know of Zenton?" Zero noticed that the broadsword had reappeared. He teleported behind Toronto. Everyone else gasped. Toronto spun, not really knowing where Zero had gone, just that the direction hadn't been specific. As he spun he brought the broadsword down in Zero's vicinity. Zero sidestepped the blade and caught it as it came around from the other side, being forced to use both hands to counter Toronto's colossal strength.  
"I believe I told you to put the sword up. I expect to be listened to."  
Toronto controlled himself with an obvious effort. He turned and looked at Zero.  
"Where is Zenton?"  
"Zenton's fine. He's actually one of my best friends. "  
"Can you get him here?" Toronto asked, after a moment.  
"I can try." Zero seemed to be looking out into nowhere. "He's coming. In the meantime, do you want to hear our plan or not?"  
"We will listen to your words."  
Two beams of light came down through the ceiling as Zero was outlining the plan. X and Zenton formed in a moment. Zero turned and looked at the two of them. "It's about time you got here. I was beginning to think you had abandoned me."  
Zenton walked forward into the middle of the circle to stand with Zero. "Hello, Toronto."  
"Zenton."  
"It's been a while, Toronto." Zenton still was not wearing any armor. Apparently Light was taking a little longer than he thought.  
"Too long. Last time I checked you were only about a step ahead of the Reploid squad that was after you."  
"They all kind of ran out of steam when I jumped into the river and swam across. For some reason Sigma forgot to waterproof them."  
"Sigma?"  
Zero stepped in. "You'll find out about him in due time. Does anyone know how much time we've got left before the Mavericks come back?"  
Toronto's face took on an almost absent look. "We've still got a good bit of time. Probably close to an hour."  
Zero looked around at the massed people, a good number of which were still staring at X and himself. "In that case, why don't I outline this plan that X, Zenton, and myself have put together and we'll see what you all think about it."  
  
A line of Reploids was coming across the field toward the town. The leader was clothed in a cloak that hid his face and body features. He held up his hand for a halt. Another robot came forward and talked to him for a moment. The leader held his hand up and motioned for the forward motion to continue once more. They passed the town, talking only to the leader of the guards for a moment. The column continued on down the road.  
  
A riot had erupted in the square. The captain of the guards didn't know what to do. The humans here had almost been likable. He didn't have the slightest idea what was going on. He looked and saw two figures darting this way and that through the crowd. He realized that everywhere one of them went, one of his guards seemed to collapse. He noticed that one of the figures seemed to be a reddish color while the other one was sort of white with the occasional glimpse of blue. He stood dumbfounded as he realized that they were moving beyond the speed he thought possible for humans. The white one was almost in his face as he turned to run and came face to face with Zero.  
"Going somewhere?" Zero asked him. "I'm afraid we can't let you do that. You'd miss all the fun that way. You're going to have to remain here for the rest of your life." Zero smiled sinisterly. "You don't need to worry, though, 'cause that won't be long." Zero deliberately began counting off his charging levels while the captain stood frozen to the spot, his face pure terror. Zero brought his cannon up. "Time's up." He fired and watched what remained of the captain's body fly through the air.  
  
The column had halted again for the usual rest stop that evening. One of the soldiers who was on lookout noticed what looked like a human coming down the road. He turned and looked at one of the Reploids who were lounging on the ground. "You. Go get the boss. We need to reinstall a few lessons." The Reploid got up and went running to find the leader.  
The old man looked like he was scared out of his wits when the leader finally showed up.  
"What happened? Why aren't you at your community?" The leader asked in a snarling voice.  
"We were attacked by robots, masters. They were fierce and overwhelmed our guards. You must go destroy them. Please, masters!"  
"Somebody take this wretch out of my sight. Reverse the column. It looks like we'll have to go back. This just might be the Reploids we're looking for."  
  
The column was done looking through the town several hours later.  
The cloaked leader still spoke with a snarl. "Have they found anything yet?"  
"No sir," Replied on of the Reploids that stood nearby.  
A voice came out of the air behind them. "What's the matter pal? Can't find us? You should teach your Reploids to look up. We've been on top of this building the whole time."  
The leader turned dropping the cloak from his head in his haste. Zero grinned when he noticed that the leader was actually Bass. All Bass could see was the outline of four people.  
"Who are you?" Bass seemed to be unworried.  
"What? You mean you don't recognize the sound of my voice? I figured you'd never forget it after that first fight." Bass's eyes widened in recognition. "I only knocked you around like a rag doll. Surely I get some recognition for that."  
Zero jumped off the building to land in front of Bass. Bass stepped back and once again called his shrill whistle. Zero watched as Treble once again came bounding out of nowhere. The dog slid to a stop. Bass had a sneer plastered on his face.  
"This time I don't think you'll find me as easy to beat. You caught me off guard last time. Now I'm ready." Bass stepped back and once again set himself for a fight. Zero noticed that it wasn't too much different from the way X stood. Bass launched himself at Zero and watched as Zero stepped to the side and smoothly avoided his attack. Bass turned and narrowly avoided a double blast from Zero's arm cannons. Treble took that moment to attack Zero from behind and actually managed to get a hold on Zero's shoulder before being swung off and away. The dog yelped and whimpered but somehow managed to land on his feet. Zero turned back to face Bass and noticed that Bass had disappeared. He stood up completely and looked around. The others had quickly taken care of the few guards that Bass had brought with him.  
"Did you kill all of them already? I figured they'd put up at least some sort of fight."  
"We let a few of them go free. Just to tell the tale, of course." Zenton was grinning from ear to ear. Zero hung his head and groaned for a moment. He noticed that his armor seemed to be ripped and torn around his shoulder. He stopped and looked at it for a moment.  
"Hey X. Come over here for a moment." X walked over to Zero and looked at his shoulder.  
"How did they manage that?" X asked after examining the tear.  
"I'm not sure. I think that's from when Treble gotta hold of my shoulder."  
"That shouldn't have happened. Nothing Sigma can create could rip Titanium-X alloy like that."  
"But if you add in the strength of Treble's jaws and then add in the fact that I literally swung him off of my arm you might find that another alloy could do it."  
"We should probably go and ask Dr. Light."  
"Good idea." Zero turned and looked at Toronto and Zenton. "Can you two handle things here? We need to go see the doctor." Zenton looked at Zero's shoulder and nodded. He stood and watched as X and Zero turned into their separate beams of light and went into the sky.  
  
Dr. Light noticed the gash in Zero's shoulder before they were even in the lab.  
"You were right about the combination of events that led to your shoulder being torn, Zero," he said as the two materialized. "You didn't, however, notice that one of Treble's teeth got lodged in your shoulder. Come over to the table." Zero looked at the table that always came up when Dr. Light mentioned it. Different repair instruments came out of the table as Zero sat down. He winced as they pulled the robotic dog's tooth out and then they went to repairing the rip in his armor. "Did you want Toronto to become part of our little group of Reploids?"  
Zero thought about it for a moment. "What about that broadsword of his? Would he still be able to use it?"  
"Is Zenton a sorcerer?"  
"Good point. If we can bring him around to it, it wouldn't be a bad idea. He's huge. You turn him into a Reploid and we might be able to match Sigma for size as well as armor. Can we actually feel pain? That's the first time I've actually been hit since you turned me into a Reploid. I don't remember feeling a thing. That might have just been the adrenaline rush." Light's face looked amused.  
"The only thing that can truly hurt you is a plasma blast or if they manage to get to the circuitry under the armor like Treble did. If you're out of the armor, you can feel everything but you will notice a severe reduction in the amount of pain you feel."  
"What about breaking bones?"  
"What did it take to rip your armor?"  
"Same material?"  
"Of course. Only the Titanium-X alloy is light enough and strong enough to handle the kind of force necessary for a skeleton." "Thanks, doc."  
  
Toronto and Zenton were catching up on old times when the other two came back.  
"You've been on the run from Sigma for this long?" Toronto was asking.  
"Pretty much. I finally managed to run into the rebels that have been fighting Sigma for a while. That's where I met Seero. We been friends since then."  
"Unfortunately," Zero said sarcastically from behind the two of them. Zenton turned to face the two of them.  
"What took you so long?"  
"I had to get stitches. What did you think? You saw the gash in my shoulder."  
"Which doesn't happen to be there anymore. Does the doc have some sort of band-aid set in the lab or something?"  
"Apparently the Titanium-X alloy is easy to repair too," Zero said and then turned to face Toronto. "The doc suggested that we ask if you'd like to join us. And I don't just mean helping us. I mean becoming a robot like we are."  
"Who is this doctor?" came Toronto's rumbling reply. 


	6. Who Knows

You know what goes here....that's right, Zero isn't mine...still....  
  
Ch. 6  
  
Who Knows?  
  
Zero was practicing with his saber in the middle of the cavern. He was trying to get some severe irritation out of his system. He knew that it would take a while for him and the others to free the humans from the oppression of Sigma and the Mavericks. He just couldn't stand the waiting for the right time. He wanted to attack now! Something that had not been there before was taking over. He had always been a warrior, both Seero and Zero. Both had been warriors. Both knew that the time was not right. Neither one cared.  
In the meantime, Light had patched Zenton's armor together and had converted Toronto. Both were now absolutely awesome, though still not quite up to X and Zero's power levels. X was talking to Toronto. Zenton's armor was brilliantly put together, designed to look like crystal in parts. The only parts that didn't seem transparent were the chest plate, the arms, and the feet. These were a blazing white. The shoulders doubled as weapons since they were razor edged and came to a point. The leggings were also made to look like the shoulders, except that the point came out where the knees were. The arm pieces were done the same way as well, with the points at the elbows.  
"How is that you can bring out that broadsword whenever you want?" X asked.  
"There was always something strange about our family. We've always had the use of magic of one sort or another. It's always assumed a different form in everybody. I can read minds to an extent. I can use my broadsword and my size is also part of my magic. Zenton's was suppressed somehow but now that he knows about it, he could very well be even more powerful than our father."  
"So you two are brothers?"  
"Did we not tell you before? I'm sorry. Yes, we are brothers. Our father was a great sorcerer. He defended our town for almost five decades. He was eventually killed when Sigma came through and decided that he wanted some sport for his newest creations. Our father wasn't going to reveal his powers in front of Sigma. He knew that if Sigma found out about our powers he would have the entire family killed. Father fought well, but not that well. I think that is why my magic took the form that it did. I can call my sword to my hand no matter where I am or the sword is. It just appears. Our mother was especially adept at healing people." Toronto looked around. "Where's Zero? I haven't seen him for a while."  
"He went down to the cavern for a while," Zenton answered from behind them. "Said he wanted to get something out of his system."  
"Why didn't he just talk to Dr. Light?" X asked as he turned to look at Zenton and his crystallic armor. Zenton just looked at Toronto and grinned.  
"Wrong system, X. He seems to be really impatient for some reason."  
"That doesn't seem right. Zero was never impatient. Unless there was a fight going on and he wasn't invited to play too."  
"You seem to keep forgetting, X. He's not just Zero. He's also Seero. But you are right about one thing. Impatience isn't one his downfalls. We better go find out what the problem is."  
Zero was still slashing and firing his cannons. He didn't seem to be able to get rid of the feeling that something was wrong. He almost didn't notice the others until he turned to fire another plasma shot down the hall and realized that if he fired that at least one of them was going to get hurt. He pulled his arm up and let the shot go out the hole in the ceiling of the cavern. When he had calmed down enough to talk the others had a slightly worried look on their faces. He walked over to them.  
"I take it you have something on your minds. You have that 'do we tell him or not' look on your faces," he told them bluntly.  
"What the hell is the matter with you?" If it was blunt he wanted it, X figured the best way to handle the situation would to be as blunt as possible. He could also cuss when the situation seemed appropriate.  
"If only I knew. I can't seem to shake this feeling that we're not moving fast enough, that something is going to happen if we don't move now."  
"Why?" X asked.  
"I DON'T KNOW!" Zero shouted and slammed his fist into the wall near him, leaving a dent several inches deep in the rock.  
"You're going to break your hand if you keep doing that." X mentioned as Zero slammed his fist into the wall a few more times. Zero then took to pacing around the area near them.  
"Let's go talk to Dr. Light. I think we need to find out what's going on in the normal world.  
  
Sigma was not pleased. To say that he was ticked would have been the understatement of the century. Vile was the only one who did not flinch as Sigma cursed each and every person involved with Zero. When Sigma was done the only one even in the room was Vile. Sigma then started on X and anyone else involved. Vile did not seem to be bothered at all with Sigma's choice of words. He was also rather in the mood to share in Sigma's feelings. He didn't particularly like being beaten. His real concern was the fact that Zero had thrown him as if he were nothing more than a paperweight. That suggested to him that Zero, if it was in fact the original Zero, had somehow become even more powerful. Zero had barely been able to knock him off of his feet before.  
Vile remembered the last time he and Zero had fought. His third resurrection had been rather like his first form. Only it was about twice as big. And a good deal more powerful. He was rather proud of the fact that he could almost stand head to head with his leader and master.  
"With all due respect, sir," Vile interrupted Sigma's little nostalgia trip down curse lane.  
"You mean to tell me that you're actually still here, Vile? I figured you'd have run off with the other insignificant fools by now."  
" Why would I? I more or less agree with you. I don't appreciate being thrown around any more than you do losing an arm."  
"You're walking on dangerous ground, Vile. I'd suggest you watch it."  
"Yes, sir. What would bring Zero out into the open?"  
"How would I know? I don't exactly talk to him everyday, you twit."  
"But we do know what he's programmed to do. He's programmed to protect the human race. If we were to somehow threaten the humans he would be sure to show his face somehow."  
Sigma stopped shouting every curse he knew and actually began to grin. "That's not a bad idea, Vile. I like it so much that I might even give you the credit for it." Sigma's smile was more of a sneer. "Zero would have to respond to a threat against the human race, wouldn't he?" Sigma's grin grew vicious.  
  
"Zero, it's nice to see you again," Dr. Light said as they walked into the room. "You seem to have a habit of showing up at just the right time. A transmission just went out over the public channels that was intended for you."  
Sigma's face came up on the monitor.  
"Zero. I know that you are out there somewhere. This is a warning. I will not tolerate your little rebellion any longer. You are to meet me at the coordinates on the screen. If you are not there within an hour, humans will die. You have been warned."  
"And that's the end of it." Dr. Light said sadly.  
  
"So the real question is whether or not to believe him," Zenton said after they had talked about it.  
"Believe him, Zen. My memories tell me that he's ruthless, cold- hearted, and he hates humans. The Mavericks he's surrounded himself with aren't much better, except they don't have as much intelligence.  
"Before you go, Zero," Dr. Light interrupted, "let me take a look at your internal systems and see if anything happened as a result from that bite that you got." Zero felt himself being lifted off the floor. The others watched as he floated in the air. He shut down a moment before being surrounded by a field of some sort. When the shield came down and Zero stepped out from it, he was smiling, looking for all the world as if nothing were going to happen within the next few years.  
"Apparently I was right, Zero. There was something floating around in your systems. That attack from Treble must have been intended to infect you."  
"With what?"  
"The Maverick virus. What else? You seem to have been able to keep it from completely infecting you without me even giving you the anti-virus program."  
"Thanks, doc. Time to leave guys," Zero said as he turned and looked at the others. They nodded and all turned into their individual beams of light. 


	7. War

Do you know how annoying this is having to make sure you put a disclaimer up here? Oh, and Zero is still Capcom's...  
  
Ch. 7  
  
War  
  
Zero and the others came down in the middle of a huge, desolate field. It had been the site of several bombings during the war and Zero wasn't sure if it was radioactive or not. It would glow in the dark if it was. The only problem was that it was the middle of the afternoon.  
Sigma stood not far away. He had only the X-hunters, Bass, and Vile with him.  
"It's nice to see that an old fashioned threat will still work to an extent. I told you to be here, Zero. I do not recall sending for any of your friends." Sigma looked a lot like his second form except that he was bigger and once again carried his lime colored lightsaber. He also looked slightly irritated.  
"That's alright Sigma. I took the liberty of inviting them. Besides, a six to four battle seems a little more appropriate than a six on one. This evens it up and I thought that the others might feel a little left out if I didn't let them have some fun. After all, we should always let our friends have some fun too, shouldn't we?" Zero shot back.  
Sigma's face took on its usual look of irritation. "Vile, take out Zero. Serges, Violin, Agile, you three can slice X whichever way you want. Bass, take out the other one in the armor. The human is mine."  
"Selfish," Vile muttered before dashing toward Zero and the others. He stopped a distance away from Zero. X and the others jumped back to give Zero the room that he would need to fight it out with Vile. Both were immensely powerful Reploids and could probably take out a couple of cities easily. X teleported a little ways off to the side while Zenton and Toronto spread out to the other sides.  
Vile seemed to be looking Zero over for some reason or another. His cannon was also beginning to glow slightly. Zero reached back and pulled the Z-saber from its sheath. He also charged up a shot in each arm so that he could be ready for anything Vile might try.  
The X-hunters circled X as he flashed into his ultimate armor. Serges stood on his floating platform, while Agile held his crimson saber once more. Violin now held his giant spiked ball by the chain.  
The wings popped down from the back of X's armor. All three X-hunters paused momentarily, then continued to circle.  
Zenton and Bass were already locking hands to see who could outmuscle the other. "So you're Bass," Zenton said as the two continued to struggle. "You're not nearly as scary as the kid stories mentioned. Bass was shoving Zenton towards the ground.  
"And you are a demented Reploid. Who could have convinced you that the humans were worth helping? Why would you?" Bass asked.  
"It might be because I wasn't originally a Reploid. I was a human, Bass."  
"You lie. It isn't possible to have been a human and then a Reploid. You are or you are not." Bass jumped back from the lock and stood staring at Zenton. "Prove it."  
Zenton flashed into his human form. "This is the real me, Bass. Deal with it, if you can." Zenton stood and watched as recognition dawned on Bass's face.  
"You were helping them when my forces were defeated at that village. You were one of the traitors."  
"No, Bass. I was one of the people who wanted to be free. That was my hometown." Zenton's face grew cold and angry. "That place was the death of my father because he could not bring his powers to bear in front of your master. He died for the sake of the rest of my family." Zenton flashed back into his armor. "If you stay in my way, Bass, I'll take out my vengeance on you."  
"You can try, human. But you will not succeed." Bass stood as a purple streak came down and solidified into Treble. The dog immediately turned into Bass's armor and flew over to the ebony bot. Zenton pulled his axe out of midair.  
Toronto closed his fist around the hilt of his forming sword. He turned and faced Sigma.  
"You realize that you're going to die, don't you?" Sigma queried, grinning the entire time. "A sword is useless against a lightblade."  
"You'd be surprised where you can find magic, Sigma. It is a tool that can be used in unimaginable ways." Toronto pulled his sword in front of him as Sigma swung what he thought would be the only stroke. The sound of the two blades meeting was a peculiar mixture of metal and electric. Sigma teleported away from the position and stood stupefied as the blade of Toronto's sword remained in one piece.  
Zero sidestepped Vile's first cannon shot and dashed towards the war- bot. Vile ducked under Zero's saber stroke and tried to kick the crimson Reploid. Zero easily flipped over Vile's giant foot and knocked the purple Maverick's other foot out from underneath of him. Vile quickly stood back up. Zero watched as several panels swung open on Vile's chest and shoulders. Then was blown backwards as level 2 shots fired from dual cannons in every panel.  
Sigma still stood and looked at the blade of Toronto's sword.  
"Were you going to fight or just stand there?" Toronto rumbled. "I hadn't heard that Mavericks were cowards as well, though it wouldn't surprise me."  
Sigma regained his composure after a moment. "Very well, human. This may last a little longer than I had anticipated. But the end result will be the same." Sigma dashed and went back on the attack. Toronto easily blocked Sigma's first round of strokes.  
"You must be getting old, Zero," Vile's voice came out from behind the helmet. "You never would have fallen for something so simple before."  
"You never would have either, Vile," Zero said as he pointed both arm cannons at Vile. Both level 4 shots took Vile in the chest. Vile flew backwards and landed with resounding clang. He didn't get back up immediately.  
X fired a level three shot into Agile's face and side-flipped over Violin's spike-ball. When he stopped to look at the X-hunters, X dropped his fighting stance and stood straight up. Then started chuckling as the X- hunters stopped and stared at him. "This is gonna be too easy," he said finally. He watched as the X-hunters lined up close enough. And Delta- attacked through all three of them. He dropped to the ground and just stood as the pieces of the X-hunters fell to the ground.  
Bass flew into the air and tried to dive-bomb Zenton. Zenton was expecting such tactics and easily dodged every time. Bass did manage to get a hold of Zenton's shoulders and fly up into the sky, but Zenton used a spell to teleport himself to the ground. Bass tried the dive-bomb tactic one more time. And began to spiral as one of X's powered up shots took off one his wings. Zenton used his magic to pull the earth up in front of Bass before he could actually hit the ground. There was an enormous sound of crushing metal from the other side of the barrier. Both Zenton and X started laughing.  
Vile was finally getting back up. "You should have finished me while you had the chance, Zero." Vile stood up and began to glow for a moment. When the glowing stopped Vile's dents were all gone.  
"Much better," the war-bot stated. Zero merely stood while his visor worked out Vile's power level again. When the end result came up, Zero couldn't help but laugh. Vile had actually spelled his own doom. His power level was only three-quarters of what it had been.  
When Vile finally moved, Zero wasn't prepared. His power level had indeed dropped, but Zero hadn't counted on it improving his speed. His surprise was complete as Vile's attack gave him a slash across the shoulder. As he clutched his shoulder and fell to one knee, he turned around. Vile stood holding a lightsaber, majestic purple, of course. "How the hell?"  
"It's nothing more than a rerouting of the energy, Zero. I'm sure you can figure that out. If you live long enough." Zero watched as Vile dashed toward him. And sat frozen as he watched the blade come down toward his head.  
Zenton watched as Zero knelt and felt the magical power rise uncalled. "NO!" he yelled, unwittingly using the Stop spell. Sigma and Vile both froze in place. Once Zenton realized what had happened he walked over to Vile, pulled his axe back and released the spell a moment before the blade made contact with the Maverick's open chest. Vile flew backwards and landed with yet another clang. Zero and the others stood and watched as the warrior Reploid tried to stand one last time. A spark flew out of Vile's chest before exploding. The others turned back around to see how Toronto was handling his end of things. They were a little surprised to see Sigma still trying to make contact with something other than the blade of Toronto's sword. Toronto didn't seem to even be making an effort to block Sigma's strokes. It was as if the blade was just where it needed to be to block every stroke, which quickly began to irritate Sigma even more. Sigma finally jumped back. "This will not be our last meeting." And with that, Sigma teleported off the field.  
Toronto stood straight and the sword disappeared. He turned and looked at the others. "He needs to work with his weapons some more." The others busted out laughing. Zero tried to laugh but was hit with a wave of pain from his injured shoulder. X walked over and looked at it.  
"He nailed you alright. Can you move it?" Zero just shook his head. "He must have nailed the servo circuitry. Doctor Light can fix that easily." He turned and looked at Zenton. "I thought you said that thing had and ultra-sonic edge to it. You seem to have knocked Vile awful far."  
"Well," Zenton said somewhat sheepishly, "I forgot to turn it back on after that practice fight of ours."  
Toronto looked around. "I think I'm beginning to see a bit of a glow in the air and that's a sign that the field that we've been fighting on is radioactive. I would suggest that we leave as soon as possible"  
All four teleported off the field after no more than a moment. 


	8. Regroup

Zero isn't mine, probably never will be, but he is Capcom's  
  
*...* = Thoughts {...} = internal communicator chatter  
  
Ch.8  
  
Regroup  
  
The robotic arms had dropped from the ceiling and were once more working on Zero's circuitry. There was the occasional twitch as one of the circuits was reconnected. After his arm was fixed Zero flashed out of the armor and decided to go see what the others were doing. They were all sitting around in the main room. Dr. Light had gratefully made chairs and a table after they had complained about having to stand all the time.  
"Hey, Doc."  
"Yes, Zero?"  
"Is there anyway to enlist more Reploids on our side? Like maybe some of the older ones that used to help us out as Hunters? Not that we can't do it, but we might need to sleep sometime."  
"I could rebuild a few of them, but they wouldn't be the same. It's hard to rebuild someone and have them be the same without their control chip. It's like building a body and not putting a soul into it."  
"Okay...I guess I see what you're saying. Are there any of them still alive? I find it kind of hard to believe that Sigma could've wiped out all of them."  
"Oh, there are still a few of them around...but they've managed to hide themselves very well. I haven't picked up signs of them for a good decade or so now."  
"Ok, that gives us hope for them."  
"That seemed like an awfully easy battle," X was stating as Seero came into the room. "I had harder battles than that with the Maverick leaders the first few times around. And that's not including the fights that I had with Sigma."  
"I can see why you had problems with Sigma," Toronto answered in his rumble. "The only reason I'm not dead is because contact with my weapon knocked him off balance every time. And my sword just bounced off of him every time I tried to get in a stroke. I might have left a few dents but that's about it. Fun watching him try to compensate for the extra kick my sword has when it comes to weight though." Toronto chuckled.  
X had a thoughtful face on. "That means that Sigma is not only bigger and just as fast but that he has managed to increase the effectiveness of his armor as well. Great, just what we need. If he can do that to himself, he can do it with the other Mavericks as well."  
"But he won't," Seero interrupted as he walked up behind them.  
"And just what makes you say that?" X asked somewhat challengingly. Arguments were always fun.  
"Think, X. You may not want to remember, but we were both Mavericks at one point. We know how they think. They're evil, off-balance, and twisted as all hell. Not to mention idiots for a large part."  
"Are you implying that I was an idiot?"  
"No, but we were different. But think back and you'll realize that we were also very, very paranoid. A Maverick will suspect his own shadow. Sigma won't give his minions anythign close to his armor because they would revolt and possibly destroy him if he did."  
"True, I remember trying to figure out which one of them was going to stab me in the back first. You win."  
"Thank you, I hate when you argue to the point of idiocy."  
"Are you implying that I'm an idiot?"  
"Pretty much, now stop repeating yourself."  
"I did not repeat myself"  
"You just did it again."  
"I did not," realization dawned on X's face "...um, peace?"  
"I suppose, but only if you say that-" Alarms went off.  
"What the hell?" Zenton yelled, jumping up from his chair. "I didn't know we had alarms in here."  
"Sorry folks," Light said into the middle of their room. "I needed to get your attention. We've got a bit of a problem in the general area of one of the old cities. Somewhere in the old United States state of Alaska. Sigma seems to have sent one of the Mavericks up there to take out the dwellings that are still there."  
"If it's just dwellings, then why do we need to bother? Are there any people there anymore?" Seero asked.  
"There aren't any people there anymore, but I'm sure they'd like to have somewhere to live once we manage to free the general populace."  
"Oh, okay, good point. Who wants to freeze?" Seero asked, looking at the other three. X looked back at him and grinned.  
"I'll go, who knows, maybe I'll meet another bunny." Seero put his head in his hands and groaned.  
"Bunny?" Zenton asked, looking perplexed.  
"Ask Zero, I'm sure he'd love to tell you about it." X grinned for a moment longer before turning into a blue beam and heading upwards.  
"Why does he always turn into a blue beam?" Toronto queried.  
"That's his main color," Light explained. "X's armor is the only part of him that changes with his weapon system, which is okay since he's the only one I designed with the weapon integration system, although I'm working on implementing it into Zero's system. In any case, X's original color was the solid blue that I created him with and that is the color that his beam turns into. It's just like Zero and his beam being red. Even if he's using the black armor that I created for him he still teleports with a red beam."  
"What about mine and Zenton's?" came the rumbling reply.  
"Yours is white because you don't have armor yet. Zenton's is white because that's the main color of his armor."  
"Oh. I think I'm sorry I asked."  
"I don't see why. There's really no such thing as a stupid question. If you don't know the answer to a question then the only wy to find it is to ask. Either that or figure the answer out through analysis, and why bother with that if someone else already knows?"  
  
X came down in the middle of the remains of an old airbase. He changed into his Gaea armor just in case something got he drop on him and started looking around to see what damage had been done. There was nothing visibly wrong with the area. X quickly hopped up a wall and looked from up there. What he saw was absolutely nothing. Nothing but a big white space surrounding the area. He brought up his communicator channels.  
"Hey, Doc. Are you sure about that reading? I haven't even met any bunnies up here." Zero could be heard groaning in the background.  
{I had a Maverick reading up there, X. I don't know what the problem is but I'm still getting readings.}  
"I'll keep looking then. But I swear there isn't a thing up he- arrggh!!"  
  
"Hearrggh??" Zero asked, as he had been privy to audio only. "Something tells me that's not what he meant to say."  
"Head up there Zero, I'm not sure why, but I have a feeling X will be needing a hand." Light stated.  
  
X hit the ground and shook himself as he got back up. He turned to find Blizzard Buffalo standing on the building, along with Chill Penguin, Frost Walrus, and Duff Mcwhalen.  
"Um, Doc? I could use a little help here. I can't take on all four at once."  
{Help's already on it's way, X}  
X stood and looked at the four Mavericks. "I don't suppose you'd care to wait a moment before we actually start fighting?"  
"For what reason would we allow you to live, traitor?" Chill penquin asked before hawking an iceball at X. X blocked the iceball with forearm of the Gaea armor and looked up at a red streak coming down from the sky.  
"Oh, no reason really. but yo should have taken me out when you had the chance."  
Zero solidified before hitting the ground and gracefully landed next to X. "Did I miss anything?"  
"Not much. Just a bird trying to clear his throat before we rip it out."  
"Sounds like fun." Zero said while pulling his saber from it's case. "Such a wonderul idea." Zero stated, a grin sliding across his features.  
And with that X flashed into his Falcon armor and fired a fully charged shot that went through all four Mavericks. None of them showed a scratch. X stopped and stared. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing, Z?"  
"They're all still standing there completely unfazed, if that's what you mean. I can understand that, but what I dont understand is how they're still standing there with all of their limbs. Hey, Doc, can you run an analysis on these four through my visor or X's helmet?"  
{I can if you can keep them busy long enough for X to stop and keep them solidly in view.}  
"Okay then, give me a minute to try and tag them and then we'll try that."  
With that Zero leaped up to the building, rushing through all four, hitting them at least once with the saber. He stopped when he reached the other end, put the saber up, and fired level 4 shots from both cannons. Before the blue plasma trails could even fade he was already rushing back through them with the sword, dodging punches from them once or twice, but other than that leaving nothing more than scratches on them. He went off the end of the building and came to rest next to X again.  
"They're entirely too easy to hit. But their armor is insane for some reason." Zero stated.  
"You're right. They aren't even taking the amount of damage Sigma should've taken."  
{Watch it there boys. They've been weighted down with nearly a literal ton of armor. I'm surprised that building is still standing.}  
Zero looked down and scraped the snow off the concrete at his feet. "Actually Doc, I'd be surprised if it had caved in. This was a Repliforce air base."  
{Well, then, answers that question. They can't move, but they can take almost anything you throw at them.}  
"Doc," Zero asked after a moment. "Is there any way for me to reroute power to my cannons? Or maybe lower the inhibitions on this suit? I know it's got more power available than I'm using."  
{You can reroute the power and get rid of the inhibitions, but if you balance the power wrong without the inhibitions, you'll blow circuits left and right.}  
"That's a chance I'll have to take, Doctor Light. We've got to take these four out. I may end up damaging the buildings, but better a few than the multiples these guys could take out."  
{Very well, Zero. We'll do it your way, but I'm probably gonna have to piece you back together after this.}  
"As long as it's just fixing the pieces and not putting them back together, I could care less, Doc. And just how much power does this suit have anyway?"  
{I don't know.}  
"You don't know?!?!"  
{Of course not, I never bother to rate my creations. They're usually too far off the scale to bother with anyway.}  
"Thanks Doc, it's nice to know I might become nuclear waste at any moment."  
{I thought you might like that. And although I hate to disappoint you, I didn't use nearly enough nuclear material to give you anything to worry about. You can overheat the circuitry, and I'll warn you, blow the circuits in that suit, and either you'll be dragging yourself back home, or you better hope X gives you a ride, because you won't be able to teleport, or change out of the armor. The suit feeds off you and feeds you at the same time. You kill it, and it's nothing more than dead weight. X's suits are the only ones that I've designed to tap directly into his system. He can't overload himself, or he dies. You on the other hand, have the capacity to do what he can, with less injury to yourself. That's not saying it won't hurt at all, but it shouldn't kill you, unless you really manage to over-do it.}  
"Ya know, I'm not sure if I'm comforted by that thought or not."  
X dashed back from where he had gone up to fire off a few more volleys at the leviathans.  
"I'm going to try something X. It may leave me a little on the overcooked side, but hopefully it'll work. If I start smoking, let me know."  
"Sure, just go ahead, we're obviously not making much headway with normal tactics."  
"Here goes nothing then," Zero said as he braced himself by slamming his feet into the ground a few inches. He brought both cannons up, making sure they were locked into place. "System override code: Zero Delta 3345. Initiate." The visor slid down and showed all of the system failsafes being disabled.  
"All failsafe systems disabled. Suit overload may occur." the computer's metallic voice stated.  
"Like I didn't already know that." Zero stated, irritated that Light had put that in the system. Zero brought the power guage for his arm cannons up on his visor and watched as it climbed into power levels he hadn't even kown were achievable, even by X. "Holy shit..."  
"Z, you're smoking, you might wanna fire now."  
Zero heeded the warning, allowing the cannons to discharge finally. The cannons fired at the same time, the plasma trails entwining into one beam as they fired. Fortunately, and unfortunately, X had been standing behind Zero when he fired.  
The blast vaporized the building, along with the Mavericks, as well as a city block's worth of space behind the building. Zero was blown backwards and into X, sending him skidding backwards a couple dozen feet. Zero fell to one knee where he had hit X, although he obviously refused to drop further. His breathing was ragged from the energy still running rampant through his system. Energy crackled in the air around him.  
{Don't touch him again, X.} Dr. Light came through on X's comm channel. {I'm not sure how safe it is yet. Wait until there's no more visual energy at least.}  
"Got ya, Doc." X replied. When the area in front of him no longer crackled, X took a look around Zero's now standing shoulders. His eyes widened when he realized what Zero had done. He watched as Zero started to sway where he stood. X got under Zero's arm before he could fall and held him up.  
"Well," Zero said between breaths, "looks like that did the trick. Although I'd hate to have to do that under more exciting circumstances." X looked up right as Zero's head fell forward int unconciousness.  
X looked at the now barren spot in the ground before him. The smile that he had slid from his face. "Light, did you program me with these capabilities?"  
{Not without considerable risk to yourself, X. Were you to attempt what he just did, you wouldn't be able to move at all. Your systems are fully integrated. You blow your motors the way he did, and you don't move at all.}  
"Thank you, Doc."  
{You don't have to thank me, X. I knew how your mental programming would turn out. After all, I watched you through the Wily Wars. You were actually running on the beta version of the Reploid mental system before you became X. And I had to give you a weakness somehow. Something to keep even Sigma from being able to access all of your power. You don't have an internal layer the way he does."  
  
"I'm aware of how my body is set up, Dr. Light. But why did you design him to still be able to fight after doing something like that? What if he goes Maverick? What if we have to take him out...again?"  
{That won't happen this time, X. That was the advantage of turning a human into Zero. There is no way for Sigma to completely turn him now. His human heritage will not allow him to go fully Maverick. He might get mad at single humans, but never the entire race."  
"Are you sure about that Doc? It doesn't take much for a human's mind to snap sometimes."  
{I did a mental scan on the man as soon as he walked into the lab. I also did so to Zenton and Toronto before I offered to turn them into Reploids. Seero's mental patterns are almost an exact match for Zero's. His looks aren't the only thing he can fool Sigma with. His attitude, his style, his personality, they all match Zero.}  
"If he's that much of a match for Zero, then there's still a severe chance of him going Maverick on us."  
{I didn't say it was impossible, X. I just said that it would be very difficult. You saw what happened with him before. He got severely irritated. All we have to do is watch for that sign, and we'll be fine. His system naturally fights of the virus even before I can initiate the anti- virus.}  
"If you say so, Doc. I'm bringing him back in now."  
A blue beam shot up through the wilderness.  
  
Author's notes: I had to re-type this chapter, because for some reason FF.net didn't like the last save file of it I had....oh well, but that was the hold up, sorry for the long break between updates. 


	9. Memories

Ummm....I really need to do something with these disclaimers...Zero isn't mine, and neither is X, or Dr. Light, or Sigma.......  
  
Zero2 Ch.9  
  
Memories/Reconciliation  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~  
Seero stood up, surrounded by darkness. A figure stood outlined in front of him. It seemed vaguely familiar.  
"Who are you?" a voice echoed around Seero. "Why do you disturb my memory? What gives you such a right?"  
"My name is Seero. And I am a Maverick Hunter." Seero answered the dark figure. Seero could begin to make out the figure. There seemed to be a handle of some sort resting behind broad, yet oddly squared off shoulders. "The same could be asked of you. Who are you? And what disturbing do you speak of? How can I disturb what I know nothing of?"  
"You call yourself a Hunter? Or are you a Maverick? Are you a human, or a reploid? Does it matter? Is there a difference anymore?" The figure cocked it's head to one side. Seero could now make out the gleam of it's eyes. Blue as saphires, yet they shined with an odd shade of red residing just behind the blue, making them seem almost purple to a point. Yet at times, it seemed as if the red would take over. They shook Seero to the very core. "Why do you fight? What is your purpose?"  
"I fight to free humanity from the slavery of the Mavericks."  
"Is that so? Then you should be able to defeat me, for if you do not, then the Mavericks have won." And with that the wraith reached over it's back to grasp the handle that Seero had spotted before. Seero watched as an even blacker darkness seemed to extend from the handle. It was all Seero could do to avoid that blackness for what seemed an eternity. "Why don't you fight at full power? Or do you prefer to fight at the same level as a normal human?"  
Seero slid to a stop from the backhand spring that had been his last avoiding maneuver. "What do you mean? I AM human."  
"You are more than human," the figure pointed out, thrusting at Seero once again.. "Who am I, you ask me?" the shadow seemed to soften to the point where Seero could make out a few features. He knew those features all too well.  
"You, you're...."  
"Exactly," the shadow stated. "I am you, and you are me."  
"But I can't be you...you're Zero."  
"Exactly...you are me. I am you. You're me now. You're not just Seero anymore. You ARE Zero."  
"Then where does that leave you?"  
"Me?" Zero's shadow asked as it chuckled. "I will take over when it seems to me that you need help. Or whenever I find the moment appropriate."  
"You'll take over?"  
"Don't worry," Zero stated. "You'll know in good time...if you're really curious you could always ask Light to lend you the Twin Soul ability."  
"The Twin Soul ability?"  
"Light will know what you mean." Zero grinned while fading. To Seero, there was a slight look of insanity in that grin.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~  
  
X hauled Zero's unconcious form into the lab as Zenton and Toronto stared in bewilderment. Zenton was the first to run to X's side to help with lifting Zero to the table. The suit, as Light had pointed out, was not the lightest thing on earth, especially with fried circuits.  
"X, what the hell barbecued his ass?" Zenton asked as they laid Zero down.  
"He did it himself."  
"WHAT?!" Zenton and Toronto both nearly dropped their jaws.  
"He did it to himself. You should see what he did to the building. Doc?" X yelled into the ceiling and walls.  
"Yes, X?" Light's face came down on one of the ceiling monitors.  
"You did say there weren't any humans left there, right?"  
"That's easy enough to tell you, X. There haven't been any humans there for several weeks. They were all moved out of there sometime before Sigma reactivated you."  
"Good."  
  
Several hours passed as Dr. Light worked on the remains of the suit. Seero had regained conciousness but was as yet unable to move, due to Light needing to work on the suit, and Seero not being able to shift out of it until it was fully functioning again.  
"Doc?"  
"Yes, Seero?"  
"What was Zero actually like?"  
"He was...well, hard to put into words. He seemed a constant joker, and yet beneath that joking, there was a certain, how to say, recklessness. He seemed to always be pushing the edges of everything. Beneath that, though, was one of our fiercest fighters. He was all seriousness in battle. I don't remember him very well, because of my limited number of probes above ground at the time, but I never saw him smile for a fight."  
"Wrong, Doc," X interrupted from the chairs and table where he and the other two were sitting.  
"I beg your pardon, X?"  
"I didn't ever find a point where he wasn't smiling in battle. Apparently all you saw were the battles where he was bored. He loved fighting. He lived for the thrill of the clash. I don't know who you were watching when Zero was fighting, but I couldn't ever get him to quit grinning when he was in a good fight. Except for one fight."  
"Which one?" Seero asked.  
"The one between me and him."  
"Oh. I think I'm sorry I asked."  
"I don't see why. Go through his memories."  
"My memories." Seero said, not even leaving a breath's space in between the corrections. His voice seemed suddenly to hold a whole different tone.  
"What the? What do you mean, your memories, Seero?" X asked, bewildered all of a sudden.  
"Don't tell me you don't recognize me, X. I may be dead, but dead isn't always gone." Z/Seero's face lit up with a grin.  
"Zero?" Light and X both sounded out at once.  
"In the flesh, so to speak."  
"But if you're Zero, then where's Seero?" X asked.  
"He's here. As am I. You knew I was still around X. Think about it" Zero's voice still held an amused tone.  
"But how are you and Seero the same person?" Light asked, his scientifical computerized mind not quite comprehending the situation.  
"Because my spirit's still around. And perhaps history is not yet done with me. So fate created a new vessel for me, although it has a mind of it's own. Doc, didn't you program him with an internal repair unit?" Zero asked.  
"Well, yes, Zero, I did create Seero's new body with a self- regeneration ability, but it doesn't include the suit, and the suit is what he fried."  
"Then redesign a few circuits. The ability to self-regenerate is going to be rather necessary in his future." Zero was all seriousness now.  
"What makes you so certain, Zero?" Light asked, sounding slightly skeptical.  
"Call it a hunch if you want. His life hasn't really been too much different from mine. Nothing but hardships and battle. I know of at least one opportunity when my self-healing ability came in handy. Besides, do you really wanna have to do all the repairs yourself every time he comes back in?"  
"Very well, Zero." Light responded.  
"Heh, good. And I now return you to your regularly scheduled persona," Zero said with a chuckle.  
  
"Well, Zero, how do you feel? Or is it Seero this time?" Doctor Light asked some time later.  
"Don't worry, Doc. Just call me Zero. It'll help solve everyone's problems, not to mention my own," Zero answered. "He pointed something out to me while I was unconcious. No matter what I want to do, he and I are one and the same. No matter how bad I could ever want it to not be, we are one person now. I don't like the confusion in my mind right now, but I'll get used to it. In time, who knows, I might end up liking being me."  
"Very well then...Zero."  
  
Zero had walked off by himself, taking one of the chairs with him. He sat backwards on the chair, with his head resting on is arms. Suddenly X tapped his shoulder. "Wanna talk about it?"  
"Sure, not like it'll do me any good not to. Although I've got a question for you."  
"Shoot."  
"How the hell did you walk up behind me without making a sound when you've got great big metal feet?" Zero asked, completely perplexed all of a sudden. He could understand how he could do it. Just walk around in human form, minus the armor, then shift into the armor when he needed to.  
"Easy actually, Light installed some sound dampener's into my big metal feet when I was still fighting Wily. Even back then it was annoying to listen to me walk around." X grinned at him. "You should have seen how much it drove Roll up the wall. Between me running around and the animals, she finally yelled at Light one day to do something about it."  
"Wasn't she a robot too?" Zero asked, grinning in spite of himself.  
"Yeah, but Light designed her to look a little more human than the rest of us. So she got to wear boots so that her metal feet weren't in contact with the floor." X chuckled.  
"Yeah, well, I guess that makes a certain amount of sense then." Zero chuckled as well. "Where are Zen and Tor?"  
"Then went down the hall to our little training room."  
"Ok."  
"Now, ready to talk maybe?"  
"Not really much to talk about, I'm just confused like hell. Why am I even still here? Why hasn't Zero just taken over and left me on the back burner?"  
"He wouldn't want to do that. He might not seem like it, but he's not the cold-hearted bastard he acts like. You should've seen him for a while after Iris died. It was like watching a dead man moving sometimes."  
"I can remember the feelings."  
"Yeah, sometimes I forget that you've got his memories too. Look at it this way. Light once told me that your mental patterns are an exact match for Zero."  
"So?"  
"There's a good possibility that the original Zero's time to actually spend on this earth is up. However, there has to be something to spur you to fight. What better than his memories, the realization of what he fought for?"  
"But if that's the case, then why was I born, why not just created as a Reploid?"  
"Because, if you'd been created, there would be too much of a chance for you to have been turned Maverick at the start, and then where would we be? We'd both be Mavericks, and Zenton and Toronto would never have been freed and changed."  
"That still doesn't answer the other question I've got."  
"And that is?"  
"Why me?" Zero's face fell.  
"You've got something else bothering you to make you even ask that, I can tell that much."  
"Yeah, there is something else bothering me, but I don't want to talk about that right now."  
"Very well, but look at it this way. Maybe there's another reason for you having your own life before becoming Zero. Something else hidden within your mind might be a key to balancing Zero out."  
"Balancing him out?" Zero was now thoroughly confused.  
"Zero was a good friend, and a damn good fighter. But in spite of that, even I have to admit that he was a bit unstable at times. The closest I've ever seen him to being completely in control of himself was when him and Iris were becoming an item. But then Repliforce happened, and well..."  
"Yeah, I can understand that part. And maybe you're right, maybe there is something balancing me out. I just hope it's not what I think it is, because if it is, it's what's bothering me, and it's been bothering me since I got changed."  
"In that case, try not to let it worry you too much. Also, consider this."  
"What?"  
"You asked, 'Why me?'. Well, if that's so important to you, I've got another question for you."  
"And that is?"  
"Who else?"  
"Wh-"  
"Why are you fighting Zero?"  
"Because I can."  
"Because you can? Seems to me like that's a reason Sigma could use for why he does what he does."  
"Well..."  
"Find the reason you fight, and maybe that will help teach you why you are now Zero, and why Zero, is now a ghost."  
"And what about you X?"  
"Me? I know why I fight, and my reason is two-fold."  
"May I ask what?"  
"I fight to protect humanity. I've been doing so for far longer than any other Reploid, and I'm not going to stop now. Also, there is someone I care very much for, and I have no intentions of allowing this world to go to waste as long as she still believes in me."  
"She?"  
"Yes, there's someone I became very close with at one point in my life, and she's still out there, somewhere."  
"But how do you know?"  
"I was a Maverick for a while. I had access to their databases. They logged every Reploid they killed or converted. I had yet to see several very important people before I left, and since Reploids don't age, it's my belief that they're still out there."  
"Okay then....but what happens if we meet them and they've been turned. I have Zero's memories, but I don't have his iron will. I couldn't live with killing a friend." Zero buried his face in his hands.  
X's face took on a strained, and yet sad look. "Zero and I have had to bury enough friends in our lives, some of whom we were forced to take life from with our own hands. If someone with a mentality like mine can survive this, and still come out alright, I think you should be fine. After all, not even the original Zero liked taking out old friends." X got up, and left a suddenly bewildered Zero behind. Zero's face slowly became a smile as X walked out the door to head down the hall. 


	10. Faces of the Past

Zero isn't mine, and I can't really claim he ever was...he's Capcom's...  
  
Ch.10  
  
Faces of the Past  
  
Zero and the others were training at the end of the hall, as had become their custom at this time of day. Zenton and Zero were currently sparring with their weapons when Light chimed in over their comms.  
"Gentlemen, how about a little foray into enemy territory?"  
"Hold on, Doc, we'll be right there," Zero answered, smiling at the others.  
The four of them walked into their headquarters, and all stopped where they knew Light was fondest of dropping a monitor.  
"What exactly do you have planned for us, Doc?" Zero asked into the seemingly empty chamber, just before the monitor dropped in front of him and the others.  
"I've discovered a 'shipment' of sorts." Light responded.  
"And?"  
"This shipment is one of Sigma's infamous 'Migrations', as they're called."  
"A movement of humans." Toronto asserted.  
"Precisely. It's a pattern of his to keep some of the people from becoming too well set in their surroundings. He does this anytime he gets bored, or if he thinks the group of people are getting a little too well set."  
"And what exactly are you wanting us to go do about this shipment?" X asked, somewhat bewildered.  
"Why, put a stop to it my dear boy. And, as an added bonus, Sigma happens to be traveling with this caravan for once." Light's face split into a grin on screen.  
"How much of an idiot is Sigma?" Zenton asked incredulously.  
"It doesn't matter, Zen," Zero interrupted. His eyes flashed red for a moment before resettling into their usual blue."Where is this shipment, and where's it going, Doc?"  
"Central US area. En route from east to west, speed close to 50 miles per hour or so, depending on exact terrain."  
"Depending on terrain?" Toronto rumbled.  
"They're being transported by train, Toronto. Once that train starts uphill, they can lose up to 20 MPH, depending on how steep a climb it is. Downhill, speed can reach up to 80 MPH, possibly higher, depending, once again, upon steepness of the hill, and also, how long the hill is."  
  
"All you had to say was that they were being transported by train. Is there some particular reason why these people are being transported?"  
"Couldn't tell you if I wanted to, Toronto."  
"Okay, then, Doc, we're gonna go have us some fun," Zero stated as a grin split his and X's faces.  
As all of them teleported out, Zenton hesitated a moment, waiting until all the others were gone before speaking.  
"Doc?"  
"Yes, Zenton?"  
"There's a reason you wouldn't tell us why those people were being transported, isn't there?"  
"Yes, Zenton, there was. And I'm not telling you either."  
"You don't have to. I have my own hunch."  
"A hunch, eh? Maybe a sixth sense, to go along with your sorcerer's abilities?"  
"Perhaps, which reminds me, I need to work on those. But anyway, all I'm gonna say is for you to watch Zero. If that group of people is who I think it is, you may need to teleport him out."  
"What makes you say that Zenton?" Light queried.  
"I think I know who those people are, and for what reason they're being transported. If I'm right, there might be someone there who could jolt Seero back to the forefront of his mind very quickly. And if she's there, he'll go insane if he can't get to her."  
  
"Don't worry too much, Zenton. I've installed a safety program into the armor in case Seero gets into too tight a predicament, or in case he's incapable of thought at any point in time. Or more precisely, the program built itself into the armor."  
"I beg your pardon? Built itself?"  
"The program I'm speaking of is Zero himself."  
"Okay then, Doc. I'll take your word on it. But if I were you, I wouldn't count on that too much. Seero may not seem like it, but he's very much linked with his emotions. Maybe even strongly enough to override the original Zero."  
And with that, Zenton's white beam shot up through the ceiling.  
  
Three beams shot down through the sky, allowing Zero, Toronto, and X just enough time to prepare to land before their feet made contact with the train's roof. Zenton came down a moment later.  
"Where did you go?" Zero asked as Zenton landed.  
"I think I played tag with a few clouds on the way. So shall we go?" As soon as Zenton finished, the four of them took off at a dead run for the closest roof hatch. Zero dropped through first, dispatching the few guards that were in that car while the others dropped in.  
"So much for the first car. Shall we proceed further back?" Zero asked as the others had already moved towards the door. Toronto ripped the door from it's hinges, then proceeded to do the same to every door they encountered. X and Zero blasted guards as they attempted to charge the new openings. As they moved toward the two final cars on the train, Sigma solidified behind them.  
"So Zero, once again you meddle in my affairs." Sigma sneered.  
"Hey, don't blame me, you're the one who decided to go in the mineshaft after me." Zero snapped back while retrieving his saber that he had put away to help X with cannon fire. "You guys go on, I'll take care of Sigma."  
"You sure you can handle him, Z?" X asked, hesitating at the door.  
"I'm sure of it, X. Now go!"  
X dashed out the door. As he went through the door, he failed to notice someone standing in the corner of the next car. After he went by, a small woman stepped out of the shadows, preparing to rush into the next car. She froze at the sight of Zero and Sigma dueling.  
Zero dodged yet another slash from Sigma's blade before he knocked it out of Sigma's hands. Zero evaded several of Sigma's punches, flipping over him in the end, kicking Sigma down in the process. As he landed, he spotted the woman standing in the corridor between the two cars. And the part of Zero that was Seero froze as he caught sight of her.  
*No you fool, this is not the time for your emotions to lock you in place!* Zero yelled in Seero's mind, moments before Sigma's fist crashed into the side of his helmet. Seero continued to stare at the woman after he came to rest at the foot of the wall. Sigma notice where Zero's gaze went, then stood back and smiled.  
"Well, Zero, it would appear you have a soft spot for this human. I don't like soft spots, so I think I'll solve your problem for you." Sigma laughed insanely as he charged his arm cannon, not noticing that Zero was already rushing for the woman. Sigma fired just as Seero stopped in front of the woman, blocking the blast with his blade. Sigma fired several more rounds at the now defensive Zero before retrieving his saber from the floor.  
"You want her dead, Sigma?" Zero stated from his spot in front of the girl. "You'll have to go through me to solve that problem."  
Sigma chuckled. "Easily done." Sigma moved with a speed unlike what Zero had seen him use before. Or perhaps he just seemed to be. Zero's mind was trying to go two directions at one time. Sigma struck Zero's blade out of his hands with several strokes. He then took the opportunity to back hand Zero into the nearest wall again. He started to calmly walk toward the woman as she backed away from the head of the Mavericks.  
{X, we've got a problem!} Light shouted into X's comms unit. {Zero's not behaving right, and he's not standing up to Sigma too well.}  
"I'm on my way!" X shouted as he turned around and dashed back towards the car he'd left Zero in.  
Zero saw where Sigma was going. He struggled to his feet. "You harm her in any way Sigma, and not only will I send you to the ninth plane of Hell, I'll come down and bring you back so I can do it again." Sigma barely registered the threat, if indeed he had heard it at all. "YOU HEAR ME SIGMA!?!" Zero yelled his eyes going pure red. Sigma turned just in time to be sent crashing into the wall by a shoulder rush from Zero. He shook his head and pulled himself out of the wall just in time to avoid Zero's next flurry of attacks. Sigma, however, was not prepared for the power increase caused by this sudden rage. He finally managed to glance aside the few hits that didn't make solid contact, attempting to get back on the offensive against Zero, who now was powered by nothing more than sheer emotion. As Sigma pushed his attack, Zero's eyes started to flicker between the red and blue.  
Zero tried to dodge all of Sigma's strikes, but his attention diverted by trying to keep Sigma away from the woman, he had no chance. Sigma slashed his leg and then his arm, disabling him, and dropping him to that knee. Zero could do nothing but stare as Sigma pulled his arm back for the killing stroke. He closed his eyes, and opened them to the sight of Sigma's saber blocked by another saber, one that appeared to be almost transparent. Sigma jumped back, face stricken with fear. Seero looked up to see the ghost of Zero standing there, saber still held where it had appeared.  
"It can't be...you're right there." Sigma stammered "I had you in my grasp, at my mercy."  
"Just goes to show you, Sigma. Even a ghost has enough strength left to beat you." Zero stated. His eyes were their usual deep blue with shades of red sliding through them. "You can't truly beat me, Sigma. You never could, you never will. But tell you what...just to give you a fighting chance, I'll leave you to X."  
Sigma and the real Zero watched as the ghost faded away, and X dropped in through the ceiling between them. Sigma barely teleported out in time to avoid the blast. X turned to look at Zero, only to find the woman was already in front of him.  
"Seero? It can't be you, can it?" She was asking. Seero meantime, could only stare. X watched as Zero suddenly tilted sideways, the damage he'd taken finally setting in enough to knock him unconcious.  
  
X and the others teleported in, Toronto carrying Zero's unconcious form, and Zenton carrying the girl.  
"I don't recall being asked if hitchhikers were allowed," Light stated as Zenton set her down.  
"It's alright, Doc. She's a friend. Besides, she's too worried about Seero to even bother to think about where she is," Zenton replied, his words made evident by the woman's actions. She was standing beside Toronto, staring only at Zero.  
"Set him on the table, Toronto," Light ordered as the table once again rose up from the floor. A few minutes later Zero's eyes opened as Light attempted to work on him. What he saw, however, was not Light's tools, or the ceiling. Instead he saw only a set of intense emerald eyes staring at him.  
"Crystal?" he mumbled, albeit somewhat incoherently.  
"Seero? Is that really you?" She asked, still unsure of what she was seeing.  
"Yeah, it's me. But what the hell are you doing here?" He asked, obviously trying to make sure he wasn't dreaming.  
"Sorry to be a pain the ass," Light stated, "but I'm afraid, young lady, that I'm going to have to ask you to move yourself. As long as you're standing there, I can't work on him, and as long as I can't work on him, he can't move." As she looked up she finally noticed the monitor that Light's face resided on. "Besides, I'd hate to see something happen to that glorious mass of red hair you've got hanging past your rear end." Crystal blushed and stepped back. "Thatta girl, you stay out of my way for about half an hour, maybe a whole one, and I'll have him back on his feet again."  
  
A/N: I started this story a long time ago, and about the time this chapter was finished, was about the time my romantic streak had been in full swing for almost a year...trust me, with no girlfriend, a romantic streak sucks...I don't know how many animes I've watched now cuz of that side of me....wait a minute, yes I do. Love Hina, and Onegai Teacher...bah, nevermind, I'll stfu now. R&R... and does anybody besides Sword Master Jeff even read my story??? Although your continued patronage is appreciated Jeff. ^_^ 


	11. All's fair

Ch.11  
  
All's fair...  
  
"There we go, finally found that last circuit," Light proudly proclaimed as Zero's body twitched back to life.  
"No offense, Doc," Zero stated while getting up " But one of these days, you're gonna have to make it so I can move a little easier when the suit's at a loss for power."  
"We'll see, maybe some day."  
"Anyway, thanks again, Doc."  
  
Zenton, X, and Toronto all watched from the table and chairs that were set up. The moment Zero had started to move, Crystal had got up from her seat and moved so she would be in front of him when he turned to look at them. Zenton watched and then leaned over to whisper to the other two. "Watch this, you two, this should be entertaining, I had to deal with this everytime we came back from a scouting mission."  
Zero finally stood all the way back up, and looked around. Crystal stood, just looking at him, her hands behind her back. He stood and looked at her, while she did the same, though with a somewhat still confused look on her face. Zero flashed back to his human form, hoping that maybe that would confuse her less. Zenton leaned back over to Toronto and X once again. "3...2...1...boom!"  
"Seero!" And with that cry, she proceeded to do what only Zenton had expected. She tackled Zero so hard that he hit the ground backside first. Had it not been for her slight weight pinning him down, he probably would have bounced. Zenton proceeded to fall over sideways out of his chair laughing, while X chuckled, and Toronto's rumbling chortle chimed in several times.  
"Eh...nice to see you too, Crys...can I have my neck back so I can breathe again?" Zero asked from his somewhat compromising position on the floor underneath her. Toronto leaned over to X as Zenton regained his seat, and his composure.  
"Do we even have to breathe?" He asked quietly.  
"Not really, but it's a good way to get rid of the few little particles of exhaust that our system gives off."  
"Oh...so should we mention that to those two?" Toronto asked, a grin playing the corners of his mouth. Zenton started chuckling.  
"Probably not," he told his brother. "Otherwise we'll probably never get Zero out of her grip. Not that he'd have a problem with that, but we might need him again." Light merely watched from his numerous monitors.  
"Ummm...Crys..." Zero stammered out as he lay there. "It really might be a good idea if you let me up now, otherwise somebody's going to make a remark about where we're at."  
"But," She started to stutter out.  
"No buts, I just think we might wanna get off the floor." Zero stated once again, attempting to sit up with Crystal still in his arms.  
"Is she always like this?" X asked Zenton. "I mean, Zero is supposed to be a fighter. It might be kinda difficult for him to fight if we can't get her to let go."  
"Give her an hour or two, then she should be fine." Zenton answered, grinning the whole time, happy to see his friend together with Crystal again. Toronto shot an eyebrow up questioningly. "She was always like this when we would get back from one of our trips into the surrounding caves. We'd be gone for three or four days. She always reacted like this when Seero got back. Once she's had enough time to make sure he's not going anywhere for a little while, she'll get back to her normal self."  
"And just what is her normal self like?" X asked, obviously trying gain as much information ahead of time as he possibly could.  
"She's frighteningly intelligent when she's not like this. Probably more intelligent than me or Zero, that's for sure. And emotional as all hell. She's got red hair for a reason. Speaking of which, don't let the hair and cute looks fool you, she can fight too. She used to be able to match me at times."  
"Used to be able to?" Toronto rumbled.  
"Well, I sincerely doubt she can compete with my body now that Light changed me."  
"You may have a point, if for no other reason than because hitting you would break her hand."  
"Bah, she's tougher than that. I just don't know if she'd be able to keep up with my speed now."  
In the meantime, Zero was finally in a sitting position, with Crystal firmly wrapped around him still. It wasn't that he minded her wanting to cuddle, but at the moment, he'd have preferred if she'd waited until they were out of the sight of the others. *Then again, when has she cared about that before?* He thought laughingly. A new sound intruded upon his hearing. As he sat there for a moment, he realized Crystal's body was racked with sobs. "What's wrong, Crys? Come on, you can tell me," he said as he pulled her closer. She looked up at him. Tears ran freely down her face as she sniffed. It was all Zero could do to avoid getting lost in the emerald sea that was her eyes.  
"I, I, didn't think I'd see you again after they took us. I was so afraid. I didn't want to be alone." She said in between sniffs, starting to wipe away the tears with the back of her hand.  
"It's okay. I'm right here. I swear, I'll never leave you alone. Didn't I promise you that once already?" She nodded at him. "Then what were you worried about? You know I keep my promises." He pulled her back into his chest, his free hand running through her hair. She balled up in that spot, wrapping her arms around his chest. He thought back to last time he had held her like this.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Seero had finally gotten back from a four day hike in the caves. He looked around, expecting Crystal to be near. Somehow she always knew when he got back. But, for some reason, he hadn't seen her yet. He went to the building known commonly as the Barracks, although he knew that was just a nickname for what was otherwise the living quarters of the place. He and Crystal shared a room, although they kept two beds there, just in case anyone should think anything indecent of them. Not that aforementioned thinker would be far off the mark, but as far as Seero was concerned, that was between him and Crystal. As he dropped his stuff on the spare bed he walked over and laid down on the other one for a few minutes, marveling in the feeling of a mattress again, not to mention the whole bed always smelled like Crystal's hair, a smell Seero was rather fond of. As he laid there he thought about what he might be able to do to surprise her when she came back to the room. Flowers were kinda sorta out of the question, since they didn't grow too well down here where there wasn't much sunlight, not to mention rain. He hadn't found any quartz or any of the other prettty rocks that he knew she was fond of. This sucked. Suddenly Seero felt a cold spot in between his shoulder blades,and heard a slight rumbling sound. Mere moments passed before the door to his room slammed open.  
"Seero!" a smaller man stormed in, obviously out of breath from running "We've got a problem." Seero was up in a moment, not even wanting to ask what the problem was as the man led him down the hall. They both ran through the middle of the encampment towards where the immense noise had come from.  
"Shit!" thought Seero as he raced through town, his lean fighter's body quickly outpacing the other man. "That's where the women were supposed to be cleaning out one of the side tunnels for our escape routes! I hope she's all right!" Seero only quickened his pace. When he got there he found Zenton and several of the others already digging. Zenton had turned to see him coming and waved him over, then immediately went back to hauling rocks out of the way. As Seero joined him Zenton only heard one word out of him. "Crystal?"  
"In there bro, and you know I'm no happier about that than you are. Last thing I need is to see you two get separated. I've suffered through that, and I won't let it happen to my friends." Zenton talked more to encourage himself than Seero, though he didn't know that Seero had stopped hearing him after the first three words. Zenton re-doubled his efforts, not wanting to see Seero's face should something happen to Crystal. As he worked, remembered pain brought tears to his eyes.  
Seero meantime, was just lifting and tossing rocks that even Zenton wasn't going to attempt. Visions of what might have happened on the other side of that rock wall were starting to take their effect on him. Anyone who had dared to get close enough would have seen the madness in his eyes. Only Zenton was brave enough to face Seero when he was like this, and even he preferred not to have to. But as he looked over at Seero he noticed something else. Seero's madness was evident, but the utter control being kept on that madness drove him into even more of a frenzy than Zenton had seen. This madness had only one purpose, one goal.  
Seero stopped when the rock he was pulling on wouldn't budge. Zenton would've gone to help if he hadn't noticed the muscles in Seero's arm suddenly gain a new definition as they strained against gravity's hold on the rock. "CRYSTAL!!!" Seero yelled for the one thing that would give his mind solace. As the rock came free, it caused a slide of rocks from above it, putting a large hole in the wall of debris. Seero tossed the boulder aside and ran through the hole it left. "CRYSTAL!"  
"Seero?" He heard faintly further back in the tunnel, serving only to increase his haste. As he rounded a corner he found her, the madness leaving his eyes at last. As she ran toward him, she tripped as a pain in her ankles threatened to send her face-first into the dirt. He caught her and dropped to his knees.. She looked slightly the worse for wear, though she tried not to let it bother her.  
"You hurt yourself again?" He asked, an amused tone thick in his voice.  
"Well it wasn't my fault this time." She half-pouted at him.  
"Did I say it was?"  
"No."  
"Then let it drop, okay silly?" He smiled down at her. "Can you walk back?"  
"I think so." She said as she tried to stand, and then cried out as her ankle gave way once more.  
"Looks like you thought wrong." Seero said, his voice somewhat laughing, but still thick with emotion."Come on." And before she could argue, he had picked her up and started back. Seero wasn't worried about the other women in the tunnel. He knew that the other men had rushed in right after he had. As he carried Crystal back out the hole, he looked over to see Zenton pressed up against the side of the tunnel. Zenton merely gave him a thumbs-up before walking into the tunnel to help with the others.  
As Seero and Crystal neared their room. Seero noticed that Crystal hadn't said anything the whole walk back. As he walked in their room, he sat her down on the bed, and turned around to close the door. By the time he got back to the bed there were tears running down her face. As he walked over he sat down on the bed next to her and pulled her over to him. "What's the matter, babe?" He asked, hoping to get her attention.  
She tried to stop her crying, but she still ended up with sniffles in her sentences. "When,when the rocks came down, all, all I could th-think about was that I'd never get to see you again." And with that she started crying with renewed strength. Seero just pulled her a little further over until she was nothing but a ball, with her arms wrapped around his chest.  
"Shh, it's okay. Remember, I'll never leave you alone. There may be some distance between us, but I'll never leave you alone. You got that?" He tilted her head up to look into his eyes.  
"Promise?"  
"I promise."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
X looked away, getting almost embarassed by the situation. He could think of several times when he and Alia had almost ended up like that. Losing one of their best friends hadn't been easy on the two of them, and there had been quite a few times they'd ended up in each other's arms, though consoling each other wasn't always the main reason for the two of them being together.  
Zenton leaned over and muttered to X. "Hey, Blue Boy, you're starting to turn a few shades of pink there, got something on your mind?" X jumped as he realized what Zen was getting at. He started to laugh sheepishly.  
"Ha, caught by my own memories I guess." He laughed, putting one hand to the back of his head. "Yeah, seeing those two just reminded me of Alia."  
"Old girlfriend I'm guessing?" Zenton asked.  
"You might say that," X answered evasively.  
"You'll have to tell me one of these days."  
"Hopefully I can one-up you on that and introduce you to her." X grinned. Sudden curiosity caught the better of him. "Doc?"  
"Yes, X?" Light answered, swinging his monitor to face X.  
"How good are your scans above ground now?"  
"Up to a 93% efficiency or so, why do you ask?"  
"What's the possiblity of you finding a group of two, possibly three Reploids?"  
"Added factor, Maverick or non?"  
"Non."  
"Special insignia or anything?"  
"Maverick Hunter, command line, and Maverick hunter communications. As if it really makes any difference."  
"Oh, it'll make a difference. That 7% of my scans that is inefficient is only in underground areas."  
"Holy shit!" Zenton dropped his jaw. "Wait a minute, then how long did you know our group was hiding in the caves?"  
"Since you moved in, so to speak." Light answered.  
"Damn....then how did you avoid us discovering you for so long?"  
"The only natural rock wall out there was the one you all started digging through." Zenton's jaw dropped again.  
"The only natural...then just what the hell were the rest of the tunnels!?!?!" Zenton burst out.  
"Tunnels of my creation. Actually parts of the base I've been working on for years. With some assorted help from Caine when he was around and had spare time."  
"But they all look completely natural...and the holes in the ceilings?"  
"All holographic imagery." Light smirked on his screen, while a progress bar ran up to 50% next to him. "Allow me to put it this way Zenton. By the time the others were captured, I had all of your brainwave patterns on file, and could locate any one of you within nano-seconds, from just those brainwave patterns."  
"Good lord...then you know what happened the day of the slide?"  
"Yes." The progress bar had moved up to 65%.  
Zero had finally retrieved himself from the floor, still holding the now silent Crystal in his arms. "So you knew we were out there, but how is it we didn't discover you until the day I did?"  
"The same holographic images that kept you all from discovering me also allowed you to do so Zero. I chose that moment to allow you to find the main lab. I'm amazed I was able to make you all believe those walls were there for so long though."  
"How did you do that, because I remember those walls being very solid." Zero asked, while the progress bar slid up to 75%.  
"Same way I was able to scan everyone's brainwaves, just reversed."  
"So you made your probes or whatever emit the wave patterns to make us think the walls were solid? Why do they still work on me then?"  
"Because I had to adjust the probes to emit a pattern individual to every person that came into those tunnels, which is why I'm surprised it worked as long as it did. It's also another reason why I'm glad you never sent out huge search parties."  
"And what about Zenton and Toronto?" They haven't had any problems with running through walls yet."  
"Same deal as with you. X has known though. His mechanical mind for some reason is very hard to set in the same patterns." Light continued to conversate as the progress bar slid up to 90%.  
"So it doesn't work on Reploids? Well, real Reploids."  
"Oh, it works, it's just that it takes an entirely different wave pattern, and it's very difficult to find one that will work for both humans and Reploids. I'm rather glad this came up though."  
"Why's that?" Toronto rumbled, still seated next to X.  
"Because, now that you know about it, and there's nobody else out in the caverns, I can finally let the holograms and wave emitters down. Which will free up my memory quite a bit." Crystal perked up in Zero's arms. After a moment she set her head back down on Zero's chest.  
"You mean you've been running this whole time on less than your full capacity?" X asked.  
"Yes, X, I've only been running on about half of my full capacity." The bar slid up to 95% as he was talking.  
"No wonder you forgot to put up the teleportation shield and the auto- cannons." X commented, starting to chuckle. Zero turned to head out the door, still carrying Crystal  
"Crys and I will be out in the main camp area if you need us." He tossed back over his shoulder, his golden mane swinging along behind him. X turned back to look at Light, only to see the larger screen in the wall to have turned on.  
"Well, X, I've found a couple groups of Reploids who are non- Maverick, but only one of them happens to be out of the Maverick's grips."  
"Is that group who I'm looking for?" X asked, getting closer to the screen.  
"Showing visual scans in one moment." X's grin grew to a full blast cheshire cat affair. The screen showed a rather bright pink Reploid with blonde hair, and another military style Reploid, both of whom had obviously seen better times. The Maverick Hunter insignia showed on both of their shoulders, with slight differences to show where they had been stationed.  
"And thus," X spoke almost reverently. " Is my second reason for fighting shown to me once more. Dr. Light?" X asked, a new shine coming to his eyes.  
"Yes, X?"  
"Can you lock onto them and teleport them in here? They've wandered around out there long enough I think."  
  
Alia and Signas wandered through the trees that surrounded them. Though Alia had never been intended to be a Reploid of war, her position within Maverick Hunters had placed her in the enemy's sights, and Signas had been smart enough to take her with him when he had gone underground. She stopped where she was and sat down on a nearby log. Signas remained where he was, carefully watching for any sign of their pursuers. They hadn't seen them for several weeks now, but he was never relaxed as long as he was in the wild. He knew all too well Alia's face was one of hurt, of a lost cause. Her hope was nearly gone, and Signas knew it. He himself was beginning to waver. After all, they'd been at this for quite a few years now, despite having gone underground and shutting down for quite a few of them as well.  
"Come on, we have to move on." Signas speech was clipped, almost short, very much like Colonel's had been, only his seemed to be able to hold a fuller range of emotion.  
"Why bother? It's not like there's anything left that's worth fighting for..."Alia hung her head in her hands. She started to push herself off the log when a confusing feeling took over, moments before she realized what it was. A pink and black beam shot up through the Colorado wilderness.  
  
X stood in front of the screen, facing away from it. He had asked Toronto and Zenton to put themselves, and the furniture, off to the side, as he wasn't completely sure how Alia and Signas were going to react to being teleported in all of a sudden. As he watched they materialized, Signas landing with a grace marred only by years of non-practice. Alia was not quite so fortunate, as she had been getting up when caught in the beam, and now went the opposite direction from what she intended. She landed unceremoniously on her Reploid rear. Much to X's surprise however, she was up in an instant. Light had turned down the lights to where there was actually very little light in the room.  
"Who are you? Show yourself, I command it." Signas yelled into the apparently empty darkness. X did just that as he walked forward into the circle of dim lights that surrounded them.  
"X, commander of the 17th unit of Maverick Hunters, reporting for active duty, sir!" X said, saluting while still grinning his best cheshire cat impression. An unplanned factor suddenly intruded upon his performance. The door behind Signas suddenly opened up revealing Zero, with Crystal walking in behind him. As he had heard X, and now saw Signas, he immediately flashed into his armor.  
"And Zero, commander of 0 unit, reporting, sir." He merely crossed his arms, Zero's memories filling him in on Zero's usual habits.  
Signas stopped and stared at the two greatest hunters his HQ had ever been priviledged to see in action. "X? Zero? How?" Signas stopped and shook his head. "No, this can't be real, they blew each other to hell years ago. You must be the enemy. And it is my mission, as the last remaining commander of the Maverick Hunters, to put a stop to you." Signas eyes went wild as he spoke. His right arm shot out to the side, a handle shooting out from the bottom of his arm to his hand. A black bar extended from it, white energy crackling around it. A Mark II saber. "And you, will be the first to fall," he stated, pointing the now energized saber at Zero. And he rushed to the attack.  
Zero pulled his saber, shooing Crystal away from his side as he did so. He easily blocked Signas' first stroke, and used his free hand to lock down Signa's other hand, knowing that the commmander fought as he did, with a one hand weapon being used with only that hand, leaving the other free for combat. He brought one huge foot up and shoved off of Signas' chest with it, sending Signas backwards as he backflipped.  
"I have no desire to fight you Signas. Just as I had no desire to fight Iris. I didn't want to fight Colonel, but he forced the issue. As you do now. Don't make me kill another friend Signas." Zero heard himself speaking, even though they were not his words. The old Zero had come back, if only for a moment.  
"If what you say is true, then power down your weapon." Signas said as he allowed the bar on his saber to dissipate. Zero flipped his wrist, bringing his saber to rest in it's casing on his back. As he put the saber up Crystal moved back to his side, snuggling her way under his arm.  
"Your actions prove more than your words Zero...as they always did. No Maverick could stand to be so close to a human. Signas held his arm up so his saber handle could drop back into it's place. "Alia, it seems we've somehow found ourselves in old company." Signas said, turning around to find a rather statuesque Alia, looking at X with something akin to fear, and yet, her face seemed to have a softness to it that Signas hadn't seen for years. "Alia?"  
"But if that's really Zero, who died stopping X, who also died, then that means that that must be X as well. Who are both suddenly alive, and right in front of us, after all these years." She stated. Signas noted that she was trembling.  
"Yes." He responded after a moment. He looked up at X for help. X stepped over to Alia and put one hand to the side of her face. Alia started to cry and did the only thing that she apparently could manage. She fainted. 


	12. Moving on

Ch. 12  
  
Moving on  
  
As Alia fainted, X reached out his arms and caught her, still grinning from ear to ear. "Well, that went better than I expected." Zero glared at his friend as he shifted back out of his armor.  
"You mean you expected that type of reaction, or worse? What were you going to do if I hadn't been here? Or if Alia hadn't locked up? She's not completely helpless you know."  
"She is where I'm concerned."  
"Okay Mr. Ego, pardon me, but just what the hell makes you say that?" Zero asked, gesturing madly, obviously upset with the grinning X. His hair, now untied, shook and jumped along with Zero's gestures, making interesting pointers to go with his denunciations. It was too bad Crystal was the only one paying attention to such a detail.  
"It's part of the routine tests we went through at MHHQ. And part of that test was to be confronted with someone you cared about, or a teammate if no one in HQ knew anyone you cared about enough. They set me up in front of Alia. She froze every time. She wouldn't dodge, wouldn't fire, couldn't do anything but stand there."  
"And you?"  
"...." X clamped his mouth shut, finally losing his grin.  
"He's almost as bad," Signas stated from beside the two. "I'd say the only thing that made him dodge is battle experience. Not many people get shot or hit and like it a second or third time. His trigger gets about as bad as she does though. He won't fire for anything. You can even make the image shift in front of them and they still won't fire on it. As a matter of fact, only one person ever passed that test."  
"And that was?" Zero asked, cocking his head to the side, wondering just who could pass such a test.  
"You. And we didn't even have to actually do the test ourselves. That's why you don't remember it. You never 'officially' went through it."  
"What??" Zero asked, stepping backwards.  
"Don't tell me you don't remember Iris." Signas looked at Zero with confusion. " And for that matter, how is it that you're able to go without your armor all of a sudden?"  
"Yes, I remember Iris, much as I might not want to at points. As to my armor, let X tell you, he can fill you in a little better than I can." Signas raised an eyebrow and looked over at X.  
"He's not the original Zero."  
"Oh...ok, he's- what???" Signas' jaw dropped. "What do you mean he's not the original Zero? I saw him standing there in his armor. No one else is good enough to impersonate Zero that well."  
"Well, he's the original Zero too." X replied, wondering just who long this was going to take, and just why Zero had foisted it off on him. He remembered that he was holding Alia up and decided to set her on her back on the floor while he tried to explain to Signas, sitting indian style so he'd be nearby when she woke back up. "I'm not sure how well you're going to believe me about this Signas, but the best Maverick Hunter on the planet was at one point human. Or at least this incarnation of him was."  
"I beg your pardon?" Signas grabbed a chair offered to him by Zenton, who happened to be wearing his armor for once. "Thank you....now wait a minute, just who the hell are you?" Signas burst out, obviously jumpy.  
"The name's Zenton. I'm a friend of Seero's...well, I guess he's Zero now, but not like most people will ever know the difference." Zenton smiled, trying to keep his amusement to himself, though not succeeding by much..  
"Okay then....anyone else in here that I didn't know about thirty seconds ago?" Signas queried while seating himself. Toronto stepped out of the shadows behind X, while Dr. Light finally allowed his face to be seen on the main screen again. "I guess I'll take that as a yes. I'm assuming you know all of these people X?"  
"You'd be right on that."  
"Good...I don't think my nervous system is up for any more shocks." Signas said, smiling weakly.  
"In that case, maybe I should wait before I try to explain anything else." X said, pulling Alia's head onto his lap.  
"Heh...you've always cared very much for her, haven't you?" Signas asked, watching as X moved Alia around gently to a more comfortable position.  
"Yes, I made my mind up on that matter shortly before I went Maverick. Even after Sigma resurrected me, I constantly watched all the incoming channels for information on her."  
"Sigma resurrected you?"  
"Yes, I'm surprised you didn't already know of it. For a while I was what all the rebels feared. Not that it did the Mavericks any good. Even turned Maverick, I couldn't shoot directly at a human. All they had to do was be standing in a field, and they'd have been perfectly fine from me. Even the first time I went Maverick, when Zero fought me. I couldn't shoot directly at humans...we had a lot of skyscrapers still in one piece back then though."  
"You mean, even when completely infected-"  
"Yes, there's a reason I'm called humanity's defender by some. I can't shoot humans. It's not even remotely possible. Dr. Light programmed me entirely too well for that."  
"Dr. Light? I've heard the name before." Signas looked down towards his feet.  
"And now you're standing in the middle of my laboratory." Light spoke from his screen.  
"I don't know you, but why would your name be familiar to me?" Signas asked, once more confused by the turn of events.  
"Probably because you were one of Cain's second in commands. You probably overheard him talking to himself on frequent occasions. He did that quite often."  
"Even so, what of it? I do recall hearing him mention your name, but other than that, I don't remember anything specifically linked to your name." Signas crossed his hand under his chin.  
"You don't remember anything specific about me because Cain probably never mentioned anything specific about me. More than likely mumbled to himself about something I'd told him. As things stand though, you could probably look at me as the father of the Reploid race. "  
"And why would that be, if I may ask?"  
"Because, you're all based off of X." Light stated somewhat proudly.  
"This I knew. What does that have to do with anything?"  
"I'm the one who created X."  
"Oh....well, that's certainly different then."  
Alarms went off in the corners once more.  
"Damnit, what the hell's going on now?" Zenton yelled.  
"Give me a moment to assess the situation Zenton, and then I'll let you know." Light said as his face disappeared from the monitor to allow maps and schematics to show up.  
"Doc, please tell me that's not where I think it is." X stated, agitation apparent in his voice.  
"Afraid so X. Old New York City. One of the largest centers of the human population at the moment."  
"Just a matter of curiosity Dr. Light." Signas stated. "But how are you able to determine exactly what the mavericks are doing? I know that you can't seperate them from normal Reploids at the moment, since just about all of the non-Mavericks are standing in this room."  
"It's not the Maverick signature that I look for. It's the energy signatures from their weapons. It's becoming increasingly harder to manage though. They've been using a lot more hand-to-hand tactics than they used to employ."  
"Probably got bad for the interior of their headquarters. That'd be a lot of plasma burns to be trying to clean off of the walls." Zero stated. It was now X's turn to hang his head.  
"I suppose I asked for that one with the bunny comment before, didn't I?"  
  
"Well then. I've lost Vile, Bass, and the X-hunters all in one fight. Not to mention I've finally lost track of those two Maverick Hunters. This is definitely not one of my better months. Not to mention the humans have supposedly been attempting to fight back in the old metropolises. I should've known I'd have to have them abandoned. Oh well, not much I can do about that now." Sigma mumbled to himself in his headquarters. "I've accomplished my goal though. I finally rid the world of the humans, or at least we're in charge now. X and Zero are becoming a constant thorn in my side once again. But that's okay, I've got a little surprise lined up for them. Oh yes, do I ever..." Sigma's face split into a feral grin. "Now to rebuild all those fools. That way I can put them to use once more."  
  
"Doc. Have you figured out what the problem is yet?" Zero asked, Crystal still clinging to him.  
"Actually, it was the funniest thing. You won't need to go anywhere yet." Light reappeared on the corner of the screen, allowing them to see what his probes had recorded. Overdrive Ostrich was busy chasing Wire Sponge all over town.  
"Those two managed to set off the alarm?"  
"Well, since the whole things started with sponge boy there accidentally nailing the bird in the ass with one of his wires, yeah, weapon discharge, definitely set off the alarm." Light responded, chortling most of the way through it. Crystal was the first to recover.  
"You mean we've been afraid of idiots like these for this long?" She reached up and shoved Zero's mouth shut for him.  
"Precisely. Unfortunately, these two are also a couple of Sigma's lower ranks. There's a reason they've never ascended far in his little hierarchy. Those two are usually at each other's throat. That's part of the reason Sigma usually sent them to seperate areas I think. What possessed him to leave them both in Old New York is anyone's guess."  
"Do we know where Sigma keeps his headquarters Doc?" Zenton asked.  
"Unfortunately I've not been able to trace them back to their headquarters. It's virtually impossible to trace someone once they've teleported."  
"Say what?" Zero asked. "Then how the hell did X follow me back here when I first went out?"  
"Short-range teleport. That one was all you. I didn't have time to lock onto you. X's armor's usually give him the ability to track short- range signals, which is part of the reason I told you to get out of there that first time. I knew he could track you, and that would bring him back in here."  
"Ok, then, if you say so. But then how did Sigma get here?"  
"Simple, went to the last place X was noticed being at."  
"I hate you Doc." Zero stated monotonously.  
"Bah, no you don't, you can't. No one can hate me. They just hate that I'm always right." Light had a huge grin plastered on his digital face.  
"In any case, Doc, anything else you need us for?"  
"Nah, but just a warning, I'm gonna move us around a bit tomorrow." Light said, still somewhat grinning.  
"What do you mean, move us around a bit?" Toronto rumbled, interested enough to bother with speaking for once.  
"I designed this base to be mobile. Most of the hillside above us has just grown there over time. I'm going to use some sonic waves to get rid of most of it so I can move this place around again. I'm sending Zero and X out to wipe out some of Sigma's sensor arrays. Then we'll be able to move out."  
"Ok, takes care of my question." Zero said, heading out the main door with Crystal.  
"Hey, Doc, you sure me and Tor couldn't possibly take care of a few of those arrays while we're at it?" Zenton asked.  
"Actually, that was next on my agenda, Zenton." Light said, bringing up some maps. "These are some potential locations I've pinpointed. I was hoping you and Toronto would be so kind as to scout them out for me."  
"I'm sure we wouldn't mind, right Tor?" Zenton replied quickly, looking at Toronto for confirmation. Tor just nodded his head.  
"I'll be honest with you, getting us removed from this area is going to be a little trickier than I'm making it sound."  
"You're going to need all of us to cause enough of a disturbance for you to move this place without Sigma noticing, aren't you?" X asked from the floor where he'd once again propped Alia on his lap.  
"You're very perceptive X. Then again, I should know, I did program you." Light stated  
"You might have originally programmed me Doc, but my programming's changed quite a bit over the hundred years or so I've been active."  
"This is true, but then again, I wouldn't have programmed your emotions very well if they couldn't rewrite themselves as needed for the situation."  
"If you don't mind me asking Dr. Light, I realize you must've brought Alia and myself here for a reason," Signas interrupted. "But I will be honest, Alia's best function is where she was, in communications and other related areas. She's not a war machine like the others and myself."  
"As I recall Signas, you weren't much of a war machine yourself to begin with. I'd say most of your skills were gained after Zero and X were destroyed. It's for that reason that I'd like to install you with a few weapons training programs, or at least have you do some training with Zero. Either way would be fine, although the programs will take a while to kick in, so perhaps we could do both. I'd like to have you back in your command position, but I'm afraid I'm going to need you to battle quite a bit more than you're used to. I'm woefully short on bodies right now."  
Signas stood and shot his arm out to the side, causing his saber to once more fly out to his hand and ignite. He brought the blade up in front of his face. "I'll be honored to so, sir." 


	13. Revelations

Revelations  
  
Zero and X moved through the facility, both firing off seemingly random shots at pieces of machinery in rooms as they ran through. With a few minutes the building was in flames as Zero and X stood on a nearby cliff.  
"That was a little too easy X." Zero stated as his molten mane swung in the wind.  
"I know. Not even any real reploids manning the place. Nothing but normal bots." X stated as he stood beside his taller companion.  
"Think we should let Light know?"  
"I'd say he already does. He monitors all of our battles. Besides, why wouldn't we let him know?"  
"Save him a little bit of worry?"  
"Bah, he's a computer program, he can take it." X grinned in the light from the distant blaze.  
"I suppose you're right," Zero stated as he too grinned and chuckled. "I'm too used to dealing with human commanders."  
Two beams shot back up through the sky.  
  
Alarms sounded everywhere in the former Fort Campbell military base.  
"Seal off the perimiter!" A commander shouted out as multiple maverick soldiers, amazingly reminiscient of Repliforce, fell before the onslaught that was X, Zero, Signas, Toronto, and Zenton. "If we cannot stop them from getting in, we'll certainly stop the traitors from getting back out in one piece." He brandished a Mark II lightsaber as Zero suddenly dashed in his direction. Zero suddenly skidded to a stop less than six feet from him.  
"I take it you're in charge of this base?"  
"I am, and what's it to you? You're not leaving here alive."  
"Well, I was gonna give you the chance to surrender, since my significant other isn't too fond of needless violence, but I'll just have to let her know you weren't taking kindly to the idea." Zero's face lit up in a nearly maniacal grin as he pulled the Z-saber back out. "One on one, man to man, Commander, what do you say?"  
"I have no idea what makes you assume this foolishness, but very well then, I accept your challenge." The commander brought his saber in front of him and saluted as Zero did the same. As he settle into his stance Zero seemed to disappear from in front of him. He felt the wind as a red and gold streak flew past him. His saber flew through the air and landed upright in the ground, as the commander himself fell to the ground, his torso separating from the lower half of him.  
"You lose," Zero stated as he put the Z-saber back in place. {Alia, if you could, let the others know to just knock out as many of the other Reploids as they can. I'm sure they'll be thoroughly demoralized when they wake up and realize that their commander is gone.}  
{Gotcha Zero, I'll pass it along.} Alia's bright voice responded.  
  
Several days had passed since the move had occured. Zero was still asleep in his room, as were most of the other others. Crystal, however, was up and about, morning having come to her slightly faster than the others. She wandered down the hall to the main room where Dr. Light was known to usually reside. Though everyone else wasn't completely sure as to whether or not he stuck to that one room. She seemed somewhat absent as she trudged to a chair. As she sat her face took on a look of resolute determination, but would then shift to insecurity. Indecision played across her features. Dr. Light was not oblivious to this, but chose not to show until he felt he was needed, or until he was called for.  
"Dr. Light," a small voice carried out from her.  
"Yes, my dear, what's on your mind?" He asked, a monitor sliding down from the ceiling so she wouldn't have to look far to see him.  
"I'd like..." She fell silent for a moment before she turned her face up towards the screen. Her eyes now shone with an inner fire. "I'd like for you to do to me what you did to Seero. I have to be able to help him." Her features broke down momentarily. "I feel so useless right now."  
"Then you're possibly not going to like part of what I'm going to tell you then," Dr. Light responded. Crystal's eyes seemed suddenly not so sure of themselves. "I can't do that." Crystal started to sob as tears began their trek down the curves of her cheeks. "But there's a reason I can't do that. Not yet."  
"And it is?" She slowly began to slump down in her chair.  
"Well, let's just say you'll find the answer in yourself. And if that doesn't give you enough of a clue, let's just say the problem should be gone in about six months or so."  
"You mean?" Crystal's eyes began to show another emotion.  
"Yes, I'm saying exactly that. I would suggest you let a certain someone else know too. Sooner or later." Dr. Light smiled to take some of the edge out of his words.  
"But how is he gonna take it?" She seemed to slump again.  
"You're perfectly well aware of how he feels for you." Dr. Light admonished her lightly. "Why would he take it any way other than happily?"  
"I don't know. But I'm scared." Crystal wiped the tears on the back of her hands. "Maybe I'm all worked up for nothing." She said, managing a small smile.  
"I'd say you are. I may just be a computer program now, but I'm not without my own emotions, and my own intuitions. Now, get you back to bed." Dr. Light said, chuckling as Crystal stood and headed back down the hallway.  
  
"Oh come on, Signas, surely you can do better than that." Zero shouted as he and Signas both rebounded off of opposing walls in the Training room. A smile of pure glee shone on his face.  
"Ha!" Signas shouted, grinning as the two met again, exchanging multiple saber strikes, neither of them scoring a hit on the other. "I'm perfectly aware that you're not fighting at full speed. Don't even try to deny that one."  
"Okay, I won't deny it, but there's a reason for that Signas," Zero suddenly got much faster than he had been previously. Signas was finding it quite diffictult to even see where the next strike was coming from. He was having next to no luck intercepting any of them. He suddenly found himself disarmed and then felt himself flying backwards. As he impacted with the wall, creating a twelve inch dent, he began to feel where Zero's foot had made contact with his chest. He collapsed onto the ground, and began to catch his breath the moment he felt it was safe to do so.  
"O...kay...I...think I see...a good...reason for that......hehe" Signas panted out as he stayed kneeling for a while. As he looked up he realized that Zero seemed to be steaming. The air around him distorted with the heat.  
"Heh, let me socket my saber, and I'll help ya up there, " Zero stated as he put the Z-saber in it's proper place and helped Signas to his feet. "Sorry to do that to ya, but had to let ya know why I don't use full power. Especially in practice. Hell, I don't even need that kind of speed to outrun any of the Mavericks I've met so far. Not to say temporary boosts of it don't help, but they're mostly just to avoid dragging things out longer than necessary."  
"Okay then, one more question for you." Signas said as he now had all his breath back.  
"Shoot."  
"Why do you call it socketing your saber?"  
"Because," Zero stated, grinning again. "Unlike conventional sabers, meaning Mark I and Mark II's, mine uses a slightly different blade. The energy in mine isn't completely solidified like yours, but it is solid enough to cut what it needs to, and to catch with other saber blades. However, once it's not needed, it dissipates. And the place where I put the handle, on the backside of my armor, is more like a hole just meant for the handle to magnetically lock into. So I've taken to callig it socketing, since it also restores what little bit of energy the saber might have used. Not only that, but as long as it's there, it helps keep my energy level up as well. That's part of the reason I was able to help you up almost immediately after I put it there. The pack automatically draws on the cold energy of the saber, using it to help cool my systemsm. It does the opposite if I happen to get stuck in a cold environment too. Handy thing, but it's really only good for if I'm out scouting or something. Especially seeing as I usually use my saber in combat."  
"I see. Makes sense when you put it that way." Signas grinned, and looked over to where Alia and X were sitting talking. Zero looked over at him and grinned.  
  
"They look a little too peaceful, wouldn't you say?" Signas grinned and nodded at Zero. "Watch this." Zero's right arm morphed into his cannon, and he fired a level 2 plasma bolt at the floor in between X and Alia. Both jumped back about three feet, then turned and glared at Zero, who had collapsed on the ground laughing. Signas had managed to remain standing but still had his hands on his knees keeping him upright as he laughed. X and Alia both looked at each other before deciding on a course of action. Alia pulled out her pistol and fired where Zero was rolling on the floor, just as X pulled up his arm cannon and let his own level 2 blast go.  
Zero looked up in time to see Alia's pistol shot coming and jumped straight up to avoid it. Straight into the path of X's blast. As he flew backwards Zero was actually attempting to laugh, right up until he impacted with the wall. "Oof!" could be heard from the wall, though slightly muffled as Zero had hit face first. As he toppled back out, he was heard to still be laughing uproariously. X and Alia could no longer contain themselves, and both collapsed into laughter, though Alia almost managed to contain herself to mere giggling. Right up until the point where Signas finally collapsed. Then she couldn't hold it anymore. She too began to laugh as hard as the others. Zero picked himself back up off the floor, but only made it halfway before he collapsed laughing again.  
"What did we miss?" Zenton asked from the doorway, Toronto standing behind him with crossed arms.  
"Oh, not much," Zero got out between breaths. "Just probably one of the most hilarious moments in the history of Alia plus X."  
"I don't know Z," X commented. "Seeing you fly backwards and impact with a wall before toppling back out was exactly what the doctor ordered if you ask me."  
"Ah shut up, I'm amazed you two did that to me though. I didn't think you could coordinate an attack that well without talking."  
"Well, that is that we, uh..." X tried to cover himself, somewhat unsuccessfully.  
"Those two are very good at that," Signas interrupted from where he sat. "They always have been. That's how you can tell they're soulmates. No matter what I do with them, they make the perfect team."  
"Soulmates, eh? Bah, to hell with that, call'em lovers and have done with it." Zero stated, once more cracking up while X and Alia both turned a bit red. Both Zenton and Toronto laughed from the doorway.  
"Yeah, well speaking of that subject, your other half is wanting you Zero," Zenton said as he chuckled some more. "Since me and Tor here were already on our way here, we though we'd deliver the message."  
"Thank you. Signas, I'll be back to work with you some more here in a little bit. Alia, be prepared, because we need to work on your skills some too. Don't want you completely helpless after all." He said as he ran down the hall. "Oh to hell with this." He leaned forward and kicked the boosters on.  
Dr. Light suddenly heard a slightly metallic skidding noise outside the door to the main room.  
"Well my dear, I'd say he's here," Dr. Light said as he chuckled. "Kids, I just love them, they're so much fun to watch."  
"Thanks Doc, that makes me feel so much better about what I've gotta do." Crystal responded somewhat sarcastically.  
"You'll be fine lass, just be honest. I can be quite certain when I say that you'll feel much better after getting this off your chest. Though I wouldn't suggest doing so in here."  
"You're right. But where am I supposed to take him?"  
"Might I suggest maybe back to your private quarters?"  
"Yeah, I guess you're right." As she finished, she stood, just as Zero finally got around to stepping inside the doorway.  
"Did you want me for something babe?" He asked Crystal as she walked up to him.  
"Yes, I did. Come on, we need to talk." She said, looping her arms around his and leading him out the door.  
"Uh oh, what did I screw up now?" Zero could be heard asking as they walked out the door.  
"Heh, if you only knew how rightly your screwing things up was this time, Zero. You may be the one to help usher in a new era in Reploid-Human relationships." Dr. Light said with a small chuckle.  
  
As Zero sat down on the bed in their room, he pulled Crystal down on his now human-seeming lap.  
"Come on, what's the problem?" He asked her tenderly.  
"Well, it isn't a problem right now. It might be here in about six months or so when I'm yelling at you at the top of my lungs, but it's not a problem right now." She said, hiding her face slightly behind the few locks of her auburn hair that slig around her shoulder. Zero reached up a hand and pushed them back behind her ear.  
"You're gonna have to be a little more outright with me. I'm fairly intelligent but you know I have problems working my way around riddles at times." He told her, his voice still very soft. "I think I've got an idea of what you're trying to tell me, but I don't want to jump to conclusions."  
"Well, then," Crystal took a deep breath. "I'm about three months pregnant or so." She said very quickly. She immediately tried to hide her face by looking the other way.  
"Hey, turn around here and look at me." He gently turned her face using his fingers on her chin. "Did you think I would be mad at you?" She nodded her head. "Never fear me. Never. Just as I promised I'd never leave you, I'll never hurt you either. You have my word on the matter." He pulled her face up, and she finally broke into tears as his lips found hers.  
As she started to cry, he pulled her into him, his arms wrapping tight around her. "I'll never leave you, never hurt you, never forsake you, as long as I live, or as long as I can be rebuilt. Not even death will keep me from you. I promise you that." He spoke into her hair as he rested his head upon hers. 


	14. What Little Boys Are Made Of

Ch. 14 What little boys are made of....  
  
Crystal sat in the main room a short while after her talk with Zero, watching a smaller monitor that Dr. Light had set for her to watch Zero and the others in the training room. As she sat and watched it Dr. Light himself showed up on the main screen.  
  
"Well my dear, have you thought about what I told you?"  
  
"Yes, I think I have."  
  
"And may I inquire as to your answer?"  
  
"I think I can do it Doc. I just don't know how well I'll be able to do such a job, knowing that Zero's out there fighting."  
  
"How do you think Alia felt doing this, knowing that X was out there?"  
  
"Well, I suppose you're right about that."  
  
"Besides, I just wanna teach you how to do this in case of a time when we need Alia out on the field." He looked down at her corner of the room that she was watching the monitor in once more. She looked up at him with a smile on her face.  
  
"Very well. Whenever you wanna start teaching me, I'm ready." She jumped a little as a keyboard suddenly jumped out at her from the wall. "Eep!"  
  
"Sorry about that...you know how to operate one of these?"  
  
"I vaguely remember from before Sigma managed to kill everyone else who knew how."  
  
"Then we'll start with the basics on here."  
  
Zero and Signas were once again sparring with their sabers. Zero had a tunnel closed in around them for this day's practice, training himself a bit as well as Signas on extremely close quarter fighting. Zero had the slight advantage, being shorter than Signas, but that advantage wasn't much. X and Alia watched from the control room. Toronto and Zenton were outside the box, sparring with each other as well.  
  
"You seem to be having a few problems in here Signas," Zero said while grinning at him between one of the spark showers their sabers ignited from contacting each other and the walls.  
  
"You don't seem to be faring much better," Signas retorted.  
  
"Yeah, well, at least I'm not cramped by the ceiling too," Zero responded, swinging his saber to deflect Signas again, striking out with his free hand while the sabers were locked. The punch connected and sent Signas out his end of the tunnel.  
  
Signas picked himself back up to find Zero handing him back the handle of his saber. "Thank you," he mumbled, rubbing his jaw for a moment. Zero just grinned back.  
  
"Didn't do any real damage did I?"  
  
"Nah, it'll just be sore for a bit." Signas said, chuckling lightly.  
  
"Ya know, up until Dr. Light converted me, that was the last thing I expected to hear out of a Reploid," Zero commented, chuckling a bit himself. X and Alia walked out of the control booth. Zero turned and fired a level 1 blast at both of them. They both dodged to the outside and then came at him from both sides. Zero dodged out of the middle of them, but turned around to find Alia attacking him from one side and X firing at him from the other. He rolled under X's blast, tripped Alia on his way by and jumped straight up from where X was rapid-firing at him again. As he touched on the ceiling he clung there for the moment he was able. "Okay guys, you two wanna play team battle, that's fine by me, but just be warned, I'm gonna have to turn the difficulty up on ya." He grinned upside down, his hair falling below his head, forming an oddity in mid-air. Suddenly he disappeared from his perch. X and Alia both turned to fire at the same spot right as Zero appeared there. He managed to deflect X's blast with his saber, but still got hit by Alia's pistol fire. Being the lesser of the two evils, it wasn't enough to stop him, but it did slow him down for a moment.  
  
"All right you two. I thought I was the only one holding back," He said between breaths. "I guess I was wrong for once. So let's dance. It may be practice, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun with it."  
  
X and Alia both grinned as well.  
  
Crystal kept the one screen constantly showing her what was going on in the training room. Dr. Light took up a good deal of the main screen, though the portion nearest to Crystal was given to her to use for her own type of training.  
  
"Well my dear, you're picking up on this very quickly I must say." Dr. Light commented. Crystal smiled widely at the monitor.  
  
"Well, my mother always did say I was a fast learner. But they say there's no such thing as a bad student, only bad teachers." Dr. Light chuckled a bit.  
  
"I don't know about that my dear. I've had some very bad students as well. It's a combination of both I'd have to say." Crystal smirked at his comments and continued with her typing, looking over occasionally at the monitor to check on Zero.  
  
"You care for him very much, don't you?" Light commented.  
  
"Of course, otherwise, I wouldn't have recognized him when I saw him again on that train." She replied solemnly.  
  
"I do suppose you're right on that matter." Light said as well. As Crystal seemed to be intent on the screen, Light was forced to get her attention again. "Ahem I do believe we're trying to get you to work on something yourself my dear?" Crystal turned around with a slightly guilty look on her face.  
  
"I'm sorry Doc. I shouldn't be so easily distracted like that, should I?" She immediately went back to typing as she had been.  
  
"It's alright for now. But later you won't have that luxury. Try to remember that."  
  
Zero bounced around the room like a rabbit gone mad trying to avoid blasts from X and Alia. Where one would fire, the next one would fire at the next spot Zero started to leap to. As Zero watched, X began to change armors in mid-fire, maintaining his firing pattern the whole time. Interesting. He's improved quite a lot here lately. The old X wouldn't have been able to do that, or at least wouldn't have thought of it.  
  
X in the meantime was having trouble concentrating on his own. As Zero had managed to counter-fire a couple times, X had to watch for that, as well as maintaining his concentration enough to exchange armors every thirty seconds.  
  
{Good work, X. Very large improvement. We'll have to see how you do when Zero actually combats you instead of just dodging with an occasional return.}  
  
{Okay Doc, will do.}  
  
As X returned his focus to Zero, he noticed that the Crimson Wonder seemed to have gotten a bit closer. Suddenly he realized how much closer. "SHIT!" He yelped right as Zero's fist suddenly made contact with the center piece of his armor. As X flew backwards he twisted around so that his feet made contact with the wall instead, allowing him to see as Zero turned to attack Alia. And though he could see what was going on, he was helpless to stop it, since he was still stuck in mid-flight towards the wall.  
  
Alia managed to duck under the red and gold blur that was Zero's foot as he attempted a roundhouse at her head. She quickly moved in and tried an uppercut but found Zero already having danced backwards and jumping forward again, trying to sweep her this time. She backflipped over the attack and smoothly landed, squeezing off a blast at Zero's head. Though her aim was perfect, so were Zero's instincts. He moved his head just far enough to avoid the beam from the pistol. As Alia watched, Zero suddenly went straight up and over her, coming down behind her and kicking her towards the same wall he'd sent X towards. By this time X had finally managed to make contact and rebound, catching Alia as she flew, setting her down, turning and changing armors before she even realized she wasn't going to make another crater in the much abused wall. As she watched, X flew forward, already having changed into the Gaia Armor. Though slowed down, he could take massive amounts of damage in that armor, and Zero knew it. As X landed, denting the ground almost an inch there, Zero went on the attack, almost all of his attacks connecting, but leaving no marks on X. Zero poured on more speed, but as he did so, he found himself suddenly at a loss as to what to do besides pulling out the saber. X grunted with each hit, but otherwise was mostly unharmed.  
  
"Nice one, X. I gotta give you that much." Zero said as he backed off for a moment.  
  
"Thanks. I actually got the idea from you somewhat. I've watched you pull pretty much the same tactic, just without the armor changing." X grinned.  
  
"Huh...usually I dodge everything."  
  
"Exactly. I know that one of your advantages is the way you're balanced, so much towards speed and power, but not as high on def. To counter-act that, the best thing to use against you is something with almost no speed, but a load of defense. You would've had a few issues with Rainy Turtloid."  
  
"I did. I fought him Sigma's fortress when I went in there."  
  
"Ahh. I'd forgotten about that actually."  
  
"Well, you also forgot something else."  
  
"What's that?" X asked, perplexed momentarily.  
  
"I wasn't using the saber." Zero said as he suddenly pulled it out and dashed forward, leaving no question as to his intentions.  
  
"SHIT!" X spat out, moments before crossing his arms in time to block the saber. Thank Light for the Gaia Armor's nearly impenetrable sections. X thought to himself momentarily. But even they aren't gonna hold out long against the Z-Saber. I've gotta do something  
  
Suddenly the Z-saber was no longer there to be blocked. As X brought his arms down, he found Alia where Zero had once stood. She was in a peculiar fighting stance that X hadn't seen before, and she smirked a bit in Zero's direction. "You didn't forget about me, didja?"  
  
"Actually, to be honest, for a moment, I did," Zero commented as he grinned from his spot over by Signas. "Nice kick, by the way. That one hurt." As he stood back up he wiped the side of his mouth of the small amount of blood trickling from it. Alia merely continued to smirk a bit. "Okay then. I think that's enough for today."  
  
"Awww," X started in on him. "You get kicked around once by a girl, and suddenly you're done? Come on, afraid of losing your great reputation?" X taunted at him.  
  
"Ha, at least I'm not the one she's got wrapped around her finger!" Zero retorted.  
  
"Nope, Crystal did that before Alia could." X replied immediately sticking his tongue out at the red reploid.  
  
"Hey, that's a low blow!" Zero replied.  
  
"And like the comment about me being wrapped around her finger wasn't?"  
  
"Well come on, look at ya, I kick her once and suddenly ya go superman on me with the Gaia Armor there."  
  
"HA! That's what you think, I was actually planning that all along."  
  
"I smell something in the air here, and I think it's called BULLSHIT!"  
  
"You calling me a liar?"  
  
"Yeah, I think I am, either that or you stepped in one hell of a platter of it."  
  
"Of what?"  
  
"BULLSHIT!"  
  
"That's it, you're losin the tail now!" X said as he changed into his first armor and began to chase Zero around the training room with a boomerang cutter.  
  
"Hey now! WHOA!" Zero yelled as he dodged out of the way of the cutters, careful to do so to keep his hair out of path as well. "You cut my hair and you're the one answerin' to Crystal. She's got red hair for a reason, I'm warning you!!" Zero continued to run for a few more moments til X finally relented and stopped chasing him.  
  
"Fine Bisho-boy, keep the hair, I'm just surprised you had to sink so low as to threaten me with your girlfriend."  
  
"Fiancee."  
  
"Whatever....wait a minute??? When did that occur?" X suddenly looked dumb founded. As did nearly everyone else in the room.  
  
"Well, technically it didn't yet. But I'm planning on solving that problem here soon." Zero said, looking somewhat abashed.  
  
"And just when were you planning on asking her about this?"  
  
"Umm...soon as I rid us of Sigma once and for all? Might be a good idea to wait until after the baby's born too." Zero replied. Jaws dropped collectively. Alia was the first to recover.  
  
"Well then, congratulations are in order I think then." She said as she finally holstered her pistol. X began to grin from next to her. "But that just leaves me with one question on the matter."  
  
"Fire away. I'll give you an answer if I have one. If I don't have it, more than likely Dr. Light does."  
  
"How's she pregnant anyway? I mean, you're a reploid, right? Isn't it kinda hard for you to...well, you know?"  
  
"To be honest, she's about three months along or so, so as to her getting pregnant in the first place, that happened before I was changed. As to the other part of your question....ehh....I'm not completely sure to be honest. It's not something that's really been any sort of matter lately. I suppose we could always ask Dr. Light, though last time I checked, I've still got everything necessary."  
  
"That's uh, not gonna, be umm...quite, umm, necessary, I don't think." Alia said as she suddenly turned a very dark shade of red.  
  
"Actually, I don't think it will be," Zenton stated from the area him and Toronto had backed into when the fireworks had originally started. "I can tell you for a fact that I still have everything intact. If I don't then I'm not feeling a difference."  
  
"Yeah, he's got a point there" Toronto rumbled. "I feel no different either."  
  
"Well then," stated Alia. "I guess that solves that issue."  
  
Author's notes: I'm sorry for the incredible delay on this latest chapter, but between some issues in my life lately keeping me incapable of writing decently, and having a bad case of writer's block just about any other time, getting this chapter cranked out was a bit of a problem until last night. So ehh....sorry bout the delay there. . 


	15. Reconfirmation

Zero2 Ch. 15

Reconfirmation

Zero stood outside the remains of what had at one point in time been the Maverick Hunter Headquarters. As he sifted through the remains, the old Zero took over temporarily. Anyone who'd been listening in on him and didn't know any better would've thought he'd been talking to himself.

"So this is where you once made your home?"

"Yes, it was." Zero's body moved, independent of the mental conversation that flowed from his lips.

"You have a lot of memories of this place." He sorted through what seemed to be pile after pile of the rubble.

"More than I care to remember sometimes."

"Why would that be? All that we are is made up of what we remember." He moved another fallen pillar with ease.

"Man survives by forgetting his memories."

"But there are some things a man should never forget."

"You speak as if you know something of the subject."

"I may not have experience with it, per se, but I've come close enough to losing Crystal enough times-" Zero slowed his pace a bit.

"Once."

"Once is enough for anyone I should think." He started to pass beneath the slowly crumbling supports that had at one point been a canopy.

"Hmph. If it only takes one close call to make you afraid of something then what kind of warrior are you?" His pace just as suddenly picked back up.

"I fear nothing on the battlefield. That is the only place where being a warrior makes any kind of difference. Off the field, I'm a different man, and you should have been too."

"Perhaps. But there are places off the battlefield where a warrior's mentality is needed."

"Not where Crystal is concerned. Why do you think I remove my armor any chance I get when she's near me?" He slowed as he neared the doorway.

"You think that much of this woman?"

"I do." He stopped in the doorway.

"Then perhaps I misjudged her. What makes her so important to you?"

"There is nothing specific that makes her important to me."

"Then what makes her important?"

"She just is. That's what makes it love. There's nothing specific about her that makes me love her. It's the whole package. Everything about her makes her who she is, and that's what attracts me to her. At one point in time, it may be the way her hair falls around her face, two minutes later it may be the way she pouts when she thinks I'm not being nice enough to her." Zero stopped and picked up a small rock, which crumbled in his hands within moments.

"All of this?"

"Was it not the same with you and Iris?"

"I loved her for her spirit. She never went down without a fight about anything."

"That's another part of Crystal that I like. She's like Iris in that aspect. I've never seen her just give up on anything. Besides, you may not realize it, but it was the same with you and Iris."

"What makes you say that?"

"I have complete access to your memories, remember?"

"I have some issues with Light about that..."

"He did what he thought was right, and let's face it, he's more intelligent than either one of us on our own. Hell, even together for that matter."

"Much as I hate to admit to it, you're right." He passed finally into what had at one point been the main hall.

His mental conversation finally abating, he finally began to truly focus on his task here.

"Right then...where did we keep that damned backup block?" He searched around for several minutes before finding a slightly battered pillar, but seemingly the only one that could still withstand a beating, which it stood to prove as Zero bashed it from every angle he could. "Okay then, I'm missing a clue here somewhere." He stopped for a moment and put a hand on his robotic chin. "Ahhh, okay, that's right, they specifically designed this with the idea of me and X being alive, so that either one of us could access it." He pulled the saber off of it's spot and place the blade end against a spot in the pillar. Suddenly the pillar split open to reveal a small cube that Zero picked up and inserted into a slot in his arm cannon.

{Doc, I've got the cube. Anything else we need from here?} Zero said through the communicator.

{Not that I'm aware of at this time Zero. Return to base whenever you feel ready to.} Dr. Light replied.

{Will do, Doc. Zero out.} Zero stood where he was for a moment longer.

"Well then, have any departing words you'd like to say?"

"I don't think so. I've made my dues here."

"Any last questions while we're out here?"

"Yes. Why do you fight?"

"You've seen in my memories all the happy times with Crys, Zen and the others?"

"Yes."

"Those are all the reason I need. Anything beyond that, is just icing on the cake. I fight, so that others might live."

"Honorable reasoning I suppose."

"Right then, we're off" A scarlet beam made it's way back up over the wasteland that was now the former MHHQ.

Crystal was waiting in a seat near where he teleported in at. He first made sure to remove the cube from his arm cannon and then immediately reverted back to his human form.

"Didja miss me?" He asked before he gave her a quick kiss to say hello.

"Just maybe," She replied, following his wise-cracking example. He suddenly looked crestfallen.

"I go out risk my life, my hair, and my all for you and I'm just maybe missed? What's a guy gotta do to get some recognition around here?" he waved his hands in the air dramatically. Toronto and Zenton both started chuckling from the other table. "Oh, is this the peanut gallery laughing themselves to death?" Zero turned towards them with an almost feral grin. "Okay then fellas, come on, let's see how you do when it comes to wrestling!"

This of course was immediately followed by the knocking aside of one table, two chairs, and two people as Zero suddenly leaped at both of them. As he wrestled with them for a few minutes, not quite gaining the upper hand anymore once Tor started actually using his size to his advantage. Zero suddenly found himself pinned to the ground. "Ahhh, shit, I give, I give!! Please, dear lord, not the HAIR!!!!" This of course immediately set Toronto and Zenton into massive fits of laughter.

Crystal watched them play for a few minutes after she inserted the cube in the computer for Light. As she watched them, she laughed almost as hard as Toronto did when Zero started yelling about his hair. As she laughed though, she suddenly stopped and both hands flew to her stomach as a strange look crossed her face. Zero was immediately off the floor and by her.

"You okay? Crys? Come on, talk to me." His face mirrored more concern than it had at any other point.

"I'm...okay...I think though...that I just got kicked...for the first time." She said, her voice very quiet. She began to laugh lightly as Zero hugged her tightly.


	16. Group Time

Zero 2 Ch.16

Group Time

Zero paced quietly in the control room to their training area. Crystal was with him as the others were all training. She watched him out of the corner of her eye while she was watching the monitors for the status reports on the others. She finally turned the chair around to face him.

"What exactly is your problem? You've not sat still since we came in here." She said pointedly.

"I wish I knew. I've just got an itch between my shoulder blades. Like something bad's about to happen, but I don't know what it is." He said as he bashed the wall with his oversized Reploid fist a few times.

"Well there's nothing you can do about that. Why not just sit down and let things go as they will?" She said as she turned around again.

"Because, I can't stand anticipation. And I know _something_ is going to happen, I just don't know _what._ That's what's bothering me, is that I don't know what is going to happen, I just know that something is." He bashed the wall a few more times.

"First off, stop that, I'm tired of listening to the wall scream," She looked pointedly at the dent he'd left. Zero suddenly looked somewhat sheepish. "Second of all, what in hell makes you so certain about this? I thought women's inuition was supposed to be the only one worth paying attention to." She smirked at him.

"You are so getting it later for that one." He grinned at her.

"By all means, please, punish me. Just later, not now. Those five are starting to show some improvements, at least according to the computer." She punched a few keys and brought up the charts for Signas, X, Alia, Zenton, and Toronto. "According to this, the biggest improvement, fighting wise, is Zenton."

"Is he actually just fighting better, or is he just taking more advantage of his spells?" He leaned in over her shoulder to watch the monitor.

"I'm not sure myself, the system only gives me a readout, it doesn't give me a breakdown."

"I'll talk to Light about that later, see if he can do something about it."

"It's odd actually. X is still improving slowly, but Alia, Signas, and Toronto are improving at a slightly more accelerated pace, and Zenton even more so than them."

"Actually it's easily explainable."

"How so?"

"X is a fighter. Whether he wants to be or not, he is a fighter. He may have been designed to help usher in peace, but Light designed him to fight if he had to. He's had to, so he's been able to do so. And he does so well at that. Not quite as well as I do perhaps, but he fights well enough to take me down on occasion. Alia and Signas were neither one designed for combat, but were given the abilities to fight if they had to. They're both adjusting at a pace to eventually match X. The same with Toronto, he's been a fighter all of his life, just not to the extent that X and I have been. He's a defender, not an attacker. Zenton on the other hand, is more of a stealth combatant. He's always been on the run with our group. He's the one that did the sneaking if we needed it, while I handled the brute force end of the deal. He's had to adjust his fighting to a much larger extent than the others. His magical abilities make up for it though." Zero said, watching the monitor the whole time, trying to see where the difference was in Zen's combat.

"I see. That does make sense when you put it that way." She reached up and put a hand on the side of his face. He brought a giant-sized hand up to cover hers.

"Don't worry. It's easy to make sense of stuff like this when you've got two lives worth of fighting to draw on." He smirked at her. She returned his smartass attitude by suddenly getting a hold of his tail. "OW OW OW!!! Not the hair!"

"Don't be a smartass with me." She pulled him down slightly before kissing him all of a sudden. "There, I feel better," she said as she let go of him.

"Damn," he commented as he tied his hair back up by flashing out of the armor and then back into it. "If ya wanted a kiss that bad ya should've said something."

"And if I want more than just a kiss?" She smirked again.

"Then I'd suggest you wait til we're back in private quarters." He replied as he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Fine then, I just might do that," She retorted.

Out in the actual training area, X was keeping everyone on their toes with seemingly random shots at all of them at once.

"Holy shit!" Zenton shouted as he attempted to dodge them. "Where the hell do you learn to shoot like that?" He said between jumps between energy bullets.

X merely grinned. "Fight Mavericks for a good 50 years or so, you'll find out real fast how to aim." He continued the barrage around the other four for a while before finally getting tired of it, not to mention his X-buster needed a slight cool-down. "Okay guys, let's take a break." As he walked towards the exit after the others, Crystal and Zero joined him walking towards the main room.

"So, X, enjoy your target practice? Or were you missing on purpose?" Zero asked as they walked.

"Ha, a little of both. Zenton continues to surprise me. First one day he freezes me, then another day he throws a fireball at me, about a week later I'm suddenly not where I was a moment before. I've been slowed down, zapped with lightning, and just today had a level 4 blast reflected right back at me. He's improving, and keeping the rest of us on our toes for sure."

"Heh, yeah, the readouts were reading along those lines as well. Is he actually fighting better or just using the spells more?" Zero asked, still trying to figure out how best to work with the others abilities.

"A little of both actually. More improved his fighting than the spells, but he's done some good work on those too. He uses them more often than he used to, but still not as often as he probably could. I'll have to try and force him into using them a little more often I suppose."

"If you want to, or continue to have him improve on his normal fighting, either way works, as long as he's improving, I could care less." Zero looked down as all of sudden he realized that Crystal had snaked in under his arm without him noticing again. "I don't mind, but how the hell do you do that?"

"Do what?" She looked up at him.

"Sneak in under my arm like that. One moment you're not there, the next I look down and I've got my arm around you and didn't even know it."

"I dunno." She shrugged. She laid her head against him as they continued to walk.

"Anyway," Zero said, turning back to X. "How're Alia and Signas coming along? I wouldn't ask, but I don't always trust computer readouts."

"They're both coming along well. Light upgraded Signas' saber so that it's able to deflect my shots, and he's getting fairly decent with that. He also upgraded Alia's pistol slightly, so that now it has another setting. It's slower, but the shots are more like my level 2 charged shots. And it might actually be better for her in the long run, since she doesn't shoot that often, but when she does she's fairly accurate. Why am I telling you all of this anyway?"

"Because I've been a bit busy lately with other more personal matters of my own and I've been leaving their training up to you."

"Oh, yeah, good point. Must have a loose circuit somewhere in my head."

"You're just now realizing this?"

"Oh, shut up, girly-bot."

"Okay then, Blue Boy."

"Oh, so now we're gonna be color-biased are we Crimson Wonder?"

"Oh, bah, at least I've got hair."

"What makes you think I don't?"

"You never take off your helmet!"

"You wouldn't either if you had helmet hair like I do!"

"I don't believe that for a moment"

"Fine then!" X reached up and pulled his helmet off. His black hair, though short, stayed straight up almost. Zero of course, almost immediately collapsed laughing.

"Okay..haha..you can..hehe..put the helmet...haha...back on." As soon as X put his helmet back on, he promptly reached down and pulled Zero's helmet off. Zero's hair that wasn't caught in the tail immediately stood up.

"HA! I'm not the only one who has helmet hair!" X shouted triumphantly. Crystal had to start laughing too. As she stood there giggling, Zero put his own helmet back on.

"Okay okay, yeesh, come on man, not in front of the lady." Zero said as X laughed a bit with Crystal. X turned to walk down the hall and leave the other two to themselves.

"Okay then, missy, now that you've had a good laugh at my hair for the day, what say we go visit with the others in the main room?" Zero said to Crystal as she finally quit giggling.

"Alright, I suppose we can do that. But only if you carry me." She smiled wide at him. Zero of course started going a bit weak in the knees.

"I suppose. But you better hold on." He reached down and picked her up. Then just as suddenly leaned forward and kicked in the boosters. As they flew down the hall X had the sense to jump to the side as the red and gold blur passed him.

"One of these days, he's gonna hit a wall or something doing that." X commented as he stepped back into the middle of the hall.

In the main hall, Toronto and Zenton had already settled into a game of cards. Alia was busy at a computer terminal, and Signas was watching over her shoulder. Zero and Crystal walked in only to have the alarms go off. "Damnit!" Zero shouted. "I knew things were going too well."

"You'd be right Zero," Light said as he appeared on the main screen. "It's been several weeks since our last engagement with the Maverick forces and I was beginning to wonder myself when they'd strike again."

"Where's it at this time Doc?" Zenton asked.

"I'm still pin-pointing the exact location. So far, the indication is middle of the states. Flat areas, what used to be Kansas and what not. A few oil fields nearby."

"Who's betting on them having sent a fire Maverick there to light a few torches?" X commented.

"You might be right. And there's still enough oil and gas pockets there to cause some problems if they can light anything serious." Zero replied.

"There's also a few human settlements there, Doc." Crystal pointed out from her station.

"She's right, I hadn't noticed those yet, but I'm looking at a deeper level than the surface for the moment."

"I'm picking up sporadic comm chatter too." Alia commented from her console. "From the sound of things, there are about 3 or 4 Mavericks there. Flame Mammoth. Blaze Heatnix. One I can't recognize from sound patterns alone. And the last one is an old friend."

"I beg your pardon?" Zero said, catching the tone in Alia's voice.

"The last one...is Magma Dragoon." She said quietly.

"That damned traitor." Zero said, his voice suddenly very agitated. "He's mine. I don't care what anyone wants to do with the other 3, but that one is MINE." A red beam suddenly shot up through the ceiling. Crystal could only stare at the spot where he'd been.

"I've never seen him get that worked up just over someone's name." She said.

"You have to understand the history between Zero and Magma Dragoon," Alia said as she kept monitoring things. "When we first started having organized problems with Mavericks, Sigma's fourth uprising to be precise, it started off with a sudden attack from within."

"Oh no," Crystal gasped. "You don't mean-"

"The attack from within was led by Magma. Zero apparently never forgave that. He's got a very touchy spot when it comes to betrayal." Alia said quietly, as she programmed the teleports for X and the others. "Setting you all down to counter everyone but Magma, since Zero already went after him. Prepare for transmission."

"We're ready, Alia." X said. "Transfer at your leisure."

"And gone." She said. The room was lit in blue and white as the four teleported out.

Author's notes: Okay, I guess this ended up as mostly a filler chapter. Even though that's not what I intended it to be in the first place, but that's okay, since I'm going to try and pick up the pace with the next few chapters. Hell, this is my second chapter I've turned out within a week and a half I believe, that's pretty good for me, lol. Thank you to those who read and review my story, I do appreciate it.


	17. Flaming Battles, Freezing Souls

Zero2 Ch.17

Flaming Battles, Freezing Souls

Zero came down from his teleport in the middle of the field. He had only a split-second before he felt heat approaching from behind him. As he rolled to the side he twisted to face behind him.  
"Magma, you traitor, still you insist on attacking me." He snarled out, charging his busters as he did so.  
"You should've known all those years ago Zero. After all, none of the rest of us could ever match your skill." Magma spat back, throwing another firewave in Zero's direction.  
"Then where the hell was your problem?" Zero replied as he easily jumped over the wave. He fired off one round of the buster, a level 4 plasma wave knocking Magma into a tower behind him, leaks springing from multiple places.  
"It's rather simple, Zero," Magma commented, holding up a fireball in one hand. "None of us would ever be able to match your record as a Hunter." Magma suddenly threw the fireball behind him into the leaking pipes. The world around him and Zero exploded.

"What the hell's going on?" Alia shouted as suddenly all of her sensors' readings went haywire.  
"Simple, that which we were trying to prevent just happened anyway," Light commented from the main screen.  
"You don't mean?" Crystal asked.  
"I'm afraid so. The entire field just went up in flames."  
"Is there any way we can reroute X and the others?" Alia asked.  
"I calculated for this and adjusted your coordinates Alia. They'll be placed down outside of the battlegrounds. The good news is that apparently only the surface of the fields is on fire. I'm still getting massive resource readings from below ground." Light responded.  
"Good, at least the humans will be able to use that later." Alia replied.  
"Be that as it may for the moment Alia, we've still got another problem. We have to get someone into the main building and shut the main connection valves or the possibility of the underground going up still exists." Before Light had even finished Crystal had already typed in the commands to bring up Zenton's communicator.

Zenton, X and Toronto all set down only to find a sudden heated shockwave blowing them all off their feet.  
"What in the hell was that?" Zenton asked as he stood back up. "Oh fuck....I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing am I?" X and Toronto had both stood up and now joined him in staring slack jawed at the inferno before them.  
"Unfortunately, Zenton," X replied. "It looks like it. Watch inside the flames as well. I think you can make out Zero and the Mavericks fighting still."  
"How can he withstand the heat?" Toronto rumbled.  
"I remember this," Zenton commented. "He mentioned it fighting Signas one day. The Z-Saber helps regulate his ability to withstand extreme temparatures as long as he keeps it in it's socket."  
"So the only way he's staying alive inside there is to limit his ability to fight, while up against four Mavericks?" X commented.  
"Afraid it looks that way." Suddenly Zenton's communicator chimed in {Yeah, what's up?}  
{Zenton, this is Crystal, Zero's in trouble!} Crystal's voice came through, thick with worry.  
{I can see that much, but what are we supposed to do about it? None of the rest of us can handle the heat in there.}  
{That's not our main problem, I'm pretty sure Zero can handle the Mavericks, but we need someone to teleport into the main building at the site there and shut off the main valves that are connecting to the oil reserves underground. If we don't get them shut off, there's a chance of the entire field exploding.}  
{Wait a minute, you mean it hasn't already?}  
{No, what's on fire right now is only the surface.}  
{You've gotta be kidding me. Get me in there now!}  
Before X or Toronto could figure out what was being talked about Zenton had already been teleported.  
"Well, crap." X commented before changing into his Gaea Armor, and equipping Duff McWhalen's ice powers. "Looks like it's up to us to help out Zero."  
"Go then. This is a fight I cannot participate in." Toronto rumbled, causing X to stop for a moment. "I have no way to withstand the heat levels within the inferno. I will wait out here until either the temparature drops, or the fight is over." X nodded as he ran off down the field with all the speed the Gaea Armor would allow him.

Zero dodged as fast as he could to try and outrun Flame Stag and Blaze Heatnix attacking him from seperate sides. As he was thrown back from one of them making contact he flew straight into Magma Dragoon's grasp.  
"What's the matter Zero? Can't take the heat?" He spat in the Crimson Hunter's face. Zero drove his knee up into Magma's lower jaw.  
"I can take it just fine. I'm just wondering though," he replied as he dodged Flame Stag once more. "You never answered me earlier. You can't match my record as a Hunter, so what's the point of all this?"  
"If we cannot match you Zero," Magma replied as he and the others surrounded Zero. "Then we can defeat you. After all, if you can defeat the one who defeated so many, then you could've beat them as well, no?"  
"Wrong again Magma. When it takes 3 of you to defeat me, you only prove how weak you truly are in the end." Zero's face was lit by a grin.  
"You'll die for your remarks Zero."  
"Won't be the first time Magma. And I'll be damned sure to make sure I take the three of you with me." Zero's face was no longer grinning. Instead an cold expressionlessness had replaced it. As Magma Dragoon looked at that face, he knew his fate was sealed.  
"To the end then!" All three Mavericks rushed at the lone Hunter.

Zenton dropped in and quickly retrieved his axe from the apparently middle-of-nowhere pocket that Light stashed it. As he walked forward he kept in contact with Light through his internal comm channel. {You sure you got me in the right place, Doc?}  
{Don't worry Zenton, you're in the right place, look to your right. There should be a row of levers. Make sure they're all flipped to the off position} Light commented as Zenton continued to walk through and then proceed to shut off the levers. Zenton could hear all the machinery shutting down around him. Suddenly he heard a loud clank from behind and turned just in time to avoid being splatted with the muck from Flame Mammoth's trunk.  
"Okay, I knew Sigma hired in some big boys, but damn, you sure take the cake, ya know that?" Zenton rattled off, determined not to lose his edge.  
"And you, are rather a bit of a pipsqueak to think you can defeat me." Flame Mammoth roared in response.  
"Strange, last time I checked X is actually a bit smaller than I am. And he took your ass out simple enough." Zenton smirked, finally shifting into his armor.  
"That was merely a mistake on my part in underestimating him." Flame Mammoth said, lobbing another gunk ball which Zenton easily avoided.  
"Strange. Then why'd he manage to kill you again after that?" Zenton's smirk grew even wider.  
"Enough talk. Let action decide your fate!" Mammoth roared once more, then proceeded to blow fire around the room, catching all of the gunk that he'd lobbed before on fire.  
"Whoa, okay, big boy here talks loud, and carries a lot of hot air. Time to cool things down a bit I think." As Zenton bounded backwards dodging another flame wave he used his magic to throw an opposing wave of ice out. He suddenly teleported behind the oversized Maverick, swinging his axe once to cause a crack in the thick armor plating that Mammoth used.  
"I sincerely hope you can do better than that." Flame pumped his trunk and arms in the air in triumph again, not seeming to have realized that the crack on his back was splitting further. As Zenton continued to sit still Mammoth suddenly stopped and toppled over.

"The hell did he just do?" Crystal asked as she had watched the whole scenario from her monitors. Light merely began to chuckle.  
"He just put that axe to use for something completely opposite of what I thought he would. Instead of using it with brute force like most axe wielders, he used it merely to open a crack in Flame Mammoth's armor." Light continued to chuckle.  
"I'm not sure I understand," Alia commented, looking over at Crystal.  
"Me neither," the flame haired girl replied.  
"It helps if you know that he has access to magic girls," Light commented. Both girls gave each other a 'the point is?' type of look and then looked back up at Light. "Once he formed that crack with the axe, he merely set up a spell inside of Flame Mammoth's armor. He literally just froze the power generator of a fire Maverick. Rather ironic one could say."

Zenton teleported back to the surface only to find that X had been sent back out of the fight.  
"The hell are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in there helping Zero?" Zenton proceeded to yell at both his brother and X.  
"We can't do anything." X said. "I'm not sure how, but the temparature in there is nearly lava levels. It's barely within a range that I think Zero can even stand."  
"But I thought you guys went into volcanos after Mavericks before." Zenton yelled some more.  
"We did Zenton, but back then we had Robot Suits capable of withstanding the heat of the lava. We no longer have access to those suits, and without them, even I can't withstand the heat levels in there."  
"Since when did Zero's power surpass yours? I thought you were the original?"  
"I was. But Light modified Zero's already nearly equal power to make it even greater than what it was."  
"Why?"  
"That, is a question I think you should ask the Doctor some time." X said, an odd look on his face.

Within the inferno, Zero still fought for his life, dodging them for every opportunity he could. He had already injured all three of them, but not enough to render any of them incapable of fighting yet.  
"You...guys are making this....an awful long way about...your deaths," Zero stated between breaths. Magma, Blaze and Stag merely all began to circle once more.  
"Perhaps, but if we are to die, we, as you, will make sure to take you with us." Magma said as he charged up another fireball. As he tossed it Blaze Heatnix dove in at Zero from one side while Flame Stag took a ground approach from the other. When Zero jumped forward to dodge the two of them Magma threw the fireball straight in his path. Zero was thrown back against another burning building. A small force field could be seen to jump into action around him as he made contact with it, saving him from being burnt.

"_Thank you saber. You've saved me more than enough times in this fight._" He thought to himself as he dropped to the ground. "_There's not much else I can do. I'll have to release the power limits on this armor again. I only hope that I can keep the others out of the blast range._" Zero suddenly planted both feet in the ground solidly, surprising all three Mavericks.  
"System Override: Code Zero Delta 3345." As Zero brought both cannons up and watched the display show up once more, he heard Light and X both come in over the channels.  
{Zero, that's not necessary! If you need to pull out of the fight!} Light ordered.  
{Don't let this be your last fight Zero, it always took more than this to take you out before.} X yelled.  
{It doesn't matter. I can't use my saber in these circumstances or I fry. Without my saber against these guys, I'm as good as done for. Better to take all three of them out now while we've got the chance.} Zero replied while letting the cannons charge run higher than it had before. As he watched the three Mavericks all began to charge their own weapons.  
{Damnit, Zero, don't do this! What about Crystal?!?} X screamed over the comm link.

From their hillside a mile away, Zenton, Toronto, and X could only watch in horror as the field below them was suddenly lit with a blue light, that unmistakable brilliant blue that could only be plasma fire. The blast eminated from one end of the field and went across to the other side of the mile long area. As the energy began to dissipate it left lightning crackling in all the air pockets left. No more fires burned in the field, having all been blown out in the blast. A large v seemed to be cut into the land where the machinery had all once stood.

Author's notes: O.o That's not the way I meant that chapter to end....seems to work better than what I had in mind though. ;; Anywho, read, review, flame me (yeah, real good idea after a fire chapter, ne?) do whatever ya please, but leave me reviews, I like'em, they make me feel good.  
BTW, my apologies for the crappy indentation and what not, for some reason fanfiction dot net didn't take my formatting too well. I had to go back and single-space everything in the quick-editor. o.O I'll see if I can't solve that issue for next chapter.


	18. Burning Embers

'Comm chatter' (because for some reason FFN doesn't like the symbols I was using XD )

Ch. 18

Burning Embers

X, Zenton and Toronto searched through the warped machinery and burnt metal that was the remains of the firefield. Every spot they passed that still was superheated was quickly cooled down with either a blast of ice from X or a sheet of magic from Zenton. No one spoke as they continued to search through the remains, the occasional piece of a Maverick visible. Zenton finally couldn't take it anymore.

'Damnit Doc, what is the point in us being here anymore? We can't find any of Zero, much as I hate to admit it, and I'm scanning with both my magic and my eyes.' Zen burst out across the comms.

'Yes, Zenton,' Dr. Light calmly replied. 'We're still recieving intermittent signals from Zero.'

'Whatta ya mean intermittent? Either you are or you're not.' Zenton replied in frustration.

'There's still a lot of residual interference from the inferno. Until it all dies down, a lot of my above ground sensors are useless in that area. What signals we are still getting from Zero are what we're picking up between patches of interference. If I could give you anything better than that to go on I would.'

'Fine, we'll keep searching.' Zenton replied before cutting off the channel.

As he continued to walk he kicked at a random pile of rubble, knocking a the plasma burnt remains of Flame Stag's head out.

"Well at least he took them out with him when he went." He muttered rather audibly.

"He's not dead," X said without bothering to turn his head.

"And just what makes you sure o great Blue Wonder?" Zenton replied irritably.

"Because though he may have at one point been the man you know as Seero, he is now Zero. And Zero is the one of very few Reploids who could match me for raw power, and the only one who could pass me for skill. And that was before Dr. Light enhanced his abilities. Now I sincerely doubt I could truly match him." X replied, still not bothering to turn his head.

"So what? He's not here now is he?" Zenton reacted hotly. Before he could get another word out X had changed into his Falcon Armor, turned, dashed back to Zenton and had him held up in the air by the front of his armor, where X shouldn't have been able to get a grip. The fact that X had Zenton in the air was alone a variation on anything Zenton or Toronto had ever seen. Especially as X's arm was nearly vertical over his head.

"You will see. An entire army of Mavericks can't defeat Zero. They'd be hard-pressed to defeat me, and I know Zero can beat me." X's voice had taken on a sudden cold tone. His normally bright blue eyes had taken a much darker coloration, a purplish hue that was quickly fading to a much brighter red. "Now I'm only going to suggest this once, and after that I get really irritated. There is a bad side to me. I'm not all fun and games. Just as there didn't used to be a fun side to me, there didn't used to be a way to truly piss me off, save for threatening the entire human race. And now there is one sure fire way to piss me off. Speak ill of my friends or threaten them, and I tend to get a rather short fuse quickly. Even as a Maverick I became known for an extremely volatile temper. Now if Dr. Light says there are still signals from Zero, then there is still hope that he is out here." X suddenly dropped Zenton to the ground unceremoniously. "Before you give up that hope, I sincerely hope you've checked every possibility." X began to walk toward the point in the field where he was sure he'd seen the plasma trail originate.

Toronto came over and picked up a still somewhat shaken Zenton.

"Perhaps," he rumbled as he brushed of Zenton's armor. "It would be best to keep our spirits somewhat high until Dr. Light gives us reason to do otherwise, no? If what I've just seen is any indication, he just showed at least a twenty five percent increase over his usual strength boundaries. And he appeared to have no trouble lifting you. And I'll be the first to admit that you're not exactly light when you're wearing your armor."

"That's not what's got me so shaken Tor." Zenton replied in an unsteady voice.

"Then what may I ask is the problem, because you're not usually prone to being this shaken just from a threat."

"It's actually two things. The first is that not only did he lift me, but he lifted me one handed by an area of my armor that he shouldn't have been able to even get a grip."

"Actually I'll have to argue on that matter since he made his own grips." Toronto said pointedly. Zenton looked down at his armor and realized that indeed X had done so, his grip having punched holes in the snow white chest plate of Zenton's armor.

"Damn, didn't realize that he'd done that. I suspect that Dr. Light can fix that easily enough. But that all isn't even what really did it Tor. It was his eyes. There was something entirely different about them that just sent chills down my spine. I've only seen that happen with someone's eyes once before."

"Oh?"

"And it was Seero. The day of the landslide. He wasn't able to get to Crystal because of the tunnel being blocked. He was slowed down from digging through by a rock that logically it should've taken three people to move. Or just maybe you. I saw nothing but sheer madness there, but a madness that was under such tight control that it shouldn't have existed."

"Then I would suggest we listen to him and continue searching." Tor suggested before turning to follow X. Zenton followed moments later.

* * *

Crystal typed furiously at her keyboard, looking for any way to fine tune the sensors to punch through the residual interference. As she typed she muttered constantly under her breath. After a short time she collapsed forward on to the keys, Alia gently removing a hypodermic spray from her neck.

"I'm going assume that you had a logical reason for sedating her?" Dr. Light asked from the main screen where he had been concentrating on his own tuning of sensors.

"Of course Dr. Light. I may be a communications specialist but I was also trained as a medic. And though I may be a Reploid I am still female. Her stress level was getting dangerously high. Any more and there was a chance that she could cause herself or the child harm. As it was she didn't even feel me move her hair to get to her neck. And that's saying something as much hair as she has."

"Good, glad to see I'm not the only one here who can understand such matters. I was starting to consider training you for here in a few months or so."

"Don't worry sir, I did all of my studying. I know what's involved with the birth process and how to take care of it. I may not be LifeSaver, but then, I never liked him much anyway." Alia commented as she set Crystal on her back on the floor so that she wouldn't fall out of the chair or anything while she was sleeping.

"Of course, him turning out to be Sigma probably didn't help that matter much either, now did it?" Dr. Light asked amusedly.

"I'll have to admit, no, that certainly didn't help," Alia replied as she reseated herself at her station. "Has the interference cleared out any?"

"I'm afraid not, but I've come to another conclusion that has me somewhat worried."

"Nice to know that even you aren't infallible."

"My dear, I'm far from infallible. I'm a program that was created by a human to emulate a human. Of course I'm highly intelligent, just as I was in life, but even that does not keep me from the occasional mistake. After all, I created X and in the process brought about the downfall of the human race."

"I'd have to argue that point Doc." Alia commented.

"I'd love to know how you see things. Perhaps my conclusions on this matter are wrong as well."

"It's actually rather simple sir. If you hadn't created X then someone else would've eventually taken the designs for Mega Man and taken them to create the first Reploid, in the process creating an inferior emotional program and making the current variety of Reploids even more prone to becoming Mavericks than they already are. As things stand, there are those of us in Reploid society, much like human beings, who understand what it is to defend that which you love. And because of your programming we have the ability to love, and to know how it feels to do so, and to know what we are truly defending. If it wasn't for that, then we wouldn't have Reploids like Zero and X who are willing to give everything they have to defend what they know is true. Even Zero, who despised the way human beings treated us Reploids, was willing to give his life to defend them. Now why do you think he did that? I think he did it because even with his hatred of how we were acted towards, he knew that the reason humans did so is because they were scared of the physical superiority that our robotic bodies give us. The humans that I could get to talk to me told me that such reasoning was why many human beings hated Reploids. We could do things that they could not. And at the same time, there were Reploids who hated human beings for pretty much the same reasons. Humans could do what we could not do with our robotic bodies." Alia lectured as she typed, trying to clear out the static much as Crystal had been trying to do.

"I see, I think. Please, if you have more to say, do so." Dr. Light commented, obviously fascinated by such a point of view on the entire human-Reploid co-existance possiblities.

"Well sir, near as I can put it, the humans hate us for what seem to be one of several reasons, of course with variations from individual to individual."

"Until of course you put them all in a group at which point they're all happy to unite into one view. Usually the most illogical." Dr. Light quipped.

"Agreed, sir. Even Reploids are prone to such actions I must admit. As for the humans, some hate us for our robotic bodies, and our capabilites to go beyond what they can do physically. Others hate us for our seemingly infinite lifespan, though without repairs that one is easily nullified. Self-regenerative capabilites though can make that a factor under any circumstance. Then there is the Maverick Virus. That made more humans hate us than ever before. Those few who began going Maverick originally were only a small percentage of Reploids total. But what they did was cause destruction alone that mobs of humans would have hard times replicating. And that factor scared humans as well. The sheer destructive capabilities of some Reploids inspire more fear of us than anything else."

"I'm to assume then that X and Zero were never particularly well liked among humans as they are without a doubt two of the most powerful Reploids in existance."

"Well, since X could hide all visible means of his armament, since he only uses the X-busters, he could pass for an armored civilian Reploid. Zero was another story. With no means of truly hiding the saber without leaving it at base, which mind you was never going to happen with Zero, he was constantly looked at by humans as a war machine. And since X took out Sigma most of the times that he attacked, he was seen as humanity's protector. It's hard to say what the response would've been to Zero defeating X when he..." Alia stopped as she choked back a lump in her throat. "When X went Maverick Zero was the only one capable of stopping him. No one else we sent in after him was even a match. We sent in multiple squads to try and take him out, anything to avoid having to send Zero, or even alert him of what was going on. But he knew. Somehow he knew that X had been turned. And he teleported out before we could even do anything to stop him. By the time those squads could've even gotten close enough to try and harm X, Zero had already taken that shot that was intended for the building. After that...I could only wish that we'd had the chance to find out how humanity would've taken that blow."

"The unknown and unappreciated powerhouse taking out humanity's defender gone bad? Judging humans from what I've seen, not to mention what I know of them from my lifetime, there would've been an extremely mixed view on that one. Some would've hated Zero even more for taking out X, and would've refused to believe that X had gone bad. Others would've seen the point and realized that Zero was just defending them as X would've done. And still others would've distrusted both halves of the story and continued to hate all Reploids." Dr. Light's voice sounded through the rooms panels.

"That may be. Reploids on the other hand hate humans mostly for their ability to live." Alia continued as the static began to finally decrease. "Such as couples in love. All humans are capable of physically expressing such a feeling to their mate. Very few Reploids were given such an ability. Those of us who do have the appropriate equipment for such functions are very careful to keep such information between ourselves, the medical examiners, and the walls. Those of us who were blessed with such a function are usually hated for it if the fact becomes known to other Reploids."

"Just curious dear, but if it were possible, who was your creator?"

"Dr. Cain was. His Reploids were the only ones taken for Maverick Hunter training, save for certain exceptions to the rules."

"I'm assuming from the way you speak then that the only Reploids to have such functions were created by him?"

"I'm not sure exactly how you came to that conclusion sir, but near as I have been able to tell, yes, that is the case sir."

"I was able to come to that conclusion for two reasons. I knew that Cain had integrated that system into his Reploids, as I had suggested it to him at several points."

"I was not aware that the two of you had spoke."

"We did on several occasions. And he based his Reploid designs off of mine. And he was very careful to do so very well. And part of the reason I included that particular system into the design of my Reploids is for the reason you just mentioned. I knew that if I gave them the ability to think and feel then I would in turn be giving them the ability to love. How I was able to foresee that such an emotion would lead to the need for that system, I'm not even sure. It was probably one of my moments of incredible foresight. I wish I could've had more of those. Those who copied Cain's designs probably didn't see the need for that particular system on a reploid, especially those designed to fight. So they in process helped to bring this all about."

"Yes, sir. Continuing on. Another reason Reploids hate humans is their ability to age. The only death we know is that of a violent end. Any and all Reploid deaths have been of violent action. We cannot die in peace, just as we seem incapable of living in peace."

"I see. I may perhaps see what I can do to solve this problem."

"If I might add sir, the moment we can end this war, the problem may be solved already."

"Oh? How so?" Dr. Light queried, once more interested, still looking for a way to take up more time as the static still covered around half of the field.

"Well, sir, for one thing you have her." Alia said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder at Crystal's sleeping form. "Though she may have gotten pregnant before Zero was converted, he is nonetheless the father of a child, and he is a Reploid. The fact that we can have children would be looked at as making us more human, and to the humans, that makes us more acceptable." Alia's features creased momentarily. "Is that an ability we actually have Dr. Light? I know we have the appropriate system and everything, but if I might be a bit crude, I've never known a female Reploid to have her time of the month."

"Actually dear, at this exact moment in time, no, you don't have the capability to do so." As Dr. Light spoke, Alia's look became rather depressed. "But, that is only because I made it so the system remained dormant until a future time when I could find out how to determine the effectiveness of the systems. And also, I have to admit, the first female Reploid is still in storage."

"She is? But, I thought Dr. Cain created the first female Reploid?" Alia was thoroughly confused now.

"Oh my heavens no child. He had to have something to base it off of. In all honesty, the only time Cain seemed to get women was when they were drunk and he was sober enough to take advantage of it." Alia immediately burst out laughing. "I gave him the schematics for creating female Reploids just as I gave him the schematics for male Reploids based off of X, other than Zero of course."

"If I might sir, is it possible to get a look at her?"

"Another time perhaps, we have several things to take care of right now. First off, it's time to start scanning the firefield on a more advanced level. Now that the static is mostly gone, I can use the rest of my sensors. Several minutes passed as he and Alia both worked furiously to clear out the last of the static.

"Sir...I'm getting one hell of an anomaly. I'm reading Zero at two different places."

"Actually child, I'm afraid that it might possibly not be an anomaly. I can think of one possible way that Zero could've survived that blast without frying the suit and in the process himself, and there may have been repercussions from it."

* * *

X lead the way back towards the final building that Zero had contacted while Zenton and Toronto had followed him at a slight distance. Of course since it was the only building left standing it was easy to find.

'X, Zenton, Toronto, come in.' Alia's clear voice called out over the comm.

'Go ahead Alia.' X replied.

'Go to the other side of that building and go about a quarter of a mile into the woods. And be prepared. We're getting a signal from Zero, but there's a problem.'

'A problem?'

'Yes. We're not just getting one signal from him. We're somehow getting two.'

'How's that possible?' X asked. 'There's only one of him.'

'I'm not entirely sure how it's possible but it's occuring right now on our sensors well enough. Two identical signals, both reading as Zero.'

'All right then, we'll see what's going on then I suppose.'

'Be careful X. There's no telling what exactly is going on up there.'

'Don't worry about me Alia. Be worried for whoever is trying to imitate Zero.' X replied calmly.

"Well then," Zenton commented as they continued to walk. "Looks like you were right X. I apologize."

"It's actually I who should be apologizing. But occasionally I can get uptight when I'm as worried as I was."

"I thought worry was a human emotion." Toronto intoned quizzically.

"Well I'm designed to be as human as robotically possible." X quipped. "Wouldn't be much of an attempt at humanity if I couldn't be worried now would it?" X turned his head to face the two and grinned widely. "Now what say we give Zero a welcome and this imposter a fireworks show, ne?"

"Sounds good to me. Tor, hope you can keep up with jets." Zenton said as both he and X leaned forward and kicked in their boosters. Toronto merely moved from his sluggish walk that had been keeping his massive frame at speed with their light jog up to a run, straining his cybernetic muscles to their limit, but managing to keep up with the two smaller fighters.

"Seems to me as if perhaps you two could use an upgrade to those boosters." Toronto's amused rumble sounded between his breaths.

"Perhaps, but at least we don't wear ourselves out doing things this way. Besides, it takes you a while to get all that bulk up to speed." Zenton continued to poke at his brother, grinning broadly as he did so.

"It's also very hard to get me to stop." Tor also grinned.

Suddenly X dropped and skidded to a stop. Zenton did so less than half second later, with Toronto beginning to slide and far surpassing the two for skid distance. As he stopped he dropped to the ground to hide behind the foliage. Or at least hide as much of himself as he could. Zenton and X and both snuck up behind him and peered over the bush as well.

What they saw would best be described as Zero fighting himself in a three dimensional mirror. One Zero would swing from one side as the other did so, countering each other on every stroke. Both would jump back at the same time and fire at the same spot, canceling each other's blast, immediately jumping back in with the saber. As they watched, Zenton and Toronto fought with their senses, trying to spot anything that would allow them to tell the difference. X's quicker sight was able to pick up on a detail that neither of the other two were fast enough to spot.

"Watch the eyes," X told them. "The real Zero's will only be either blue or red, depending on how mad he is at this doppleganger. The other one's eyes are doing something else. The red is almost more sliding behind the eyes. Creates a mixture effect."

"Great, now my only question X, is how the hell are the two of us supposed to be able to tell that difference? I can't even spot their eyes at this distance."

"Sorry. Sometimes I forget how advanced I've actually become with the upgrades Dr. Light gives me."

"Must be nice, we don't get anything like that."

"Well, he mostly uses experimental stuff on me."

"In other words, half of the stuff you've got that's so advanced may or may not work?"

"Pretty much. Keep your eyes on them. The one to our right at this moment is the imposter."

"Alright then. On 3 we go and blast the shit out of him." Zenton said, charging up a what looked to be a ball of lightning just over his hand.

"1"

"2"

"3!!"

X and Zenton both burst over the bushes only to see the two copies of Zero suddenly go to hit each other with their fists and merge into one. As both stopped they watched as Zero merely stood there for a moment, glowing with overused energy for several moments before he collapsed forward.

"Which one is he?" Zenton asked as he rushed forward.

"No way of knowing till he wakes up, " X said as he picked up and shouldered the unconcious Reploid. "We'll just have to take him home and see what happens when he wakes up."

"Right then," Zenton said before all three teleported back out.

Author's Notes:

My apologies to everyone who was waiting for an update on this story. My home internet connection is currently not connected and being such I've been forced to use a friend's connection. While it's not too bad for everything else, I had no way to get my story onto a disk of any sort to get over here. Fortunately I was able to get my computer here for a night or two and I am able to update occasionally via this process. So it may be a little while till I can update again, but when I do, it should be another long chapter. So till I can get the comp over here or get my home connection back. ;)

Also, sorry for all the talking and semi-philosophical stuff. Creations of too much time to think perhaps. XDDD


	19. HomecomingReversal

Ch. 19

Homecoming / Reversal

"Well then," stated the program that now housed all of the knowledge of Doctor Thomas Light. "It seems we're in a bit of a tricky situation. I can wait for him to reawaken, and possibly endanger all of us, or I can try and wake him up, and let it all hit the fan now. I leave the decision up to you five."

The five, being Alia, X, Zenton, Toronto, and Crystal, were all adamant in their decision.

"Wake him up now, Doc," X said as Light's head floated around the main screen.

"Very well. But I suggest you prepare yourself in case the one that's won the fight isn't our Zero."

"No matter which Zero it is, he is still Zero." X said, though as he said so he had already changed into his Gaea Armor and began to charge his busters, aiming them at the still unconcious form on the table. Crystal took a place further towards the back of the group as Alia stepped to the side with her pistol drawn. Zenton began to charge a ball of energy in his hands. Toronto merely stood where he was, unable to use anything distance based.

Light's instruments popped up from the side of the table as he prepared to wake Zero. However, as he did so, the Reploid's hands began to move on their own as a groan escaped from the previously inert body.

"Holy hell, did anyone get the name of the convoy that hit me?" Zero muttered as he sat up. He looked over to see several anxious faces, not to mention several different weapons pointed his way. "Ummm....okay, did I miss something? Cuz I don't remember Sigma taking over all of my friends before I fought those three in that inferno."

X began to grin as he and Zenton both aimed their blasts up and out a hole in the ceiling that Light had just opened up. Before either he or Zenton could move any further than that, Crystal had already tackled Zero and sent him rolling backwards over the table. Which of course, resulted in everyone else hitting the ground laughing.

"Where the hell were you? I was so worried!!" Crystal wailed as she clung to Zero like a vice.

"Umm...sorry?" Zero said somewhat abashed.

"Sorry?! SORRY?!?" Crystal started to yell as Zenton and the others all pulled out the chairs.

"This should get hilarious." Zenton said aside to the other three.

"I'm sorry, alright? I was trying to save your ass!" Zero started to yell back.

"Well next time do so in a way that doesn't worry me so damned much!" Red hair now flew in various directions as Crystal had managed to stand back up by this time.

"Well next time I'm not fighting for my life in the middle of a damned inferno, I'll do that, alright? And do you want some ice water while I'm at it?" Zero yelled, his own mane of hair swinging to the points of his arguments.

"You do that, and what the hell would I want ice water for?!?"

"Well I just thought that since I was in the middle of fighting for my life to protect yours, I might see if you wanted me to pull something else impossible out of my ass!"

"Well I do want some ice water now go get it damnit!"

"Too bad!"

"WHAT?!?"

"I said too bad! I can't get ice where there's fire!"

"Well then I guess you're not getting anything else while you're at it!"

"Hey now, wait a minute! I'm trying as hard as I can damnit!"

"No you're not, or you'd get me some damned ice water!"

"Fine, you want ice water? Hold on." Suddenly Zero pulled his saber from his back, and turned it with the blade at the ground and began the freeze a spot right at her feet, working the blade upwards so that it formed a good solid block. "There, alright? Ice water, minus the water for another ten minutes or so."

Crystal looked at the block of ice and couldn't help but start to laugh. Zero sheepishly began to do so as well. Zenton and the others, who had been attempting to remain quiet through the argument began to laugh out loud as well.

"Alright then," Dr. Light said, "Now that we've managed to avert disaster once more, we have some issues to attend to. Sigma is getting more and more dangerous in his strategy. He's almost gone back to his old guerilla tactics. Now, the main question is, how do we wanna take care of this?"

Zero turned back to the screen. "Have we been able to get a lock on his headquarters yet? That would really help us out."

"What are you trying to suggest?" Zenton asked worriedly. "That we just barge on in, ask him for tea, and destroy him while we're at it?"

"Why not?" Zero asked as he stood with one arm wrapped around Crystal. "I don't see any reason why we can't take him out. We've already done more than handle him. Tor nearly took him out before. None of his lackeys are capable of standing up to us, we've proven that twice over now. All I need is a good lock-on to his headquarters and I guarantee we can take him out easily enough. Hell, three of them together couldn't even touch X."

"You're too confident Zero." Zenton said. "That's always been your only downfall. Something bad is bound to happen. So far we've been saved several times by lucky breaks. What happens when that luck doesn't pull through for us? The time we went after the train, what happened there? We nearly lost you, if not for the old Zero's ghost. This time when you went in to the inferno? We had no way of knowing which Zero you really were when we brought you back. We can't keep living off ifs and maybes. We need to start being a little more thorough in our attacks. Figure out where exactly we're attacking and why before we teleport out to a battlefield. If we really wanna win this, we have to prepare for the future. You of all people should be thinking ahead Z, especially what with Crystal being pregnant."

"Why do you think I want to take out Sigma _now_? If we take him out now, we won't have to worry about him later." Zero said, waving both arms now.

"Wrong Z." X stated from his seat. "Stop and think again, how many times have we fought Sigma now? This will make the 7th time the two of us have gone after him. I for one am getting tired of going in after him constantly. I say we make him play the game this time. Make him have to find us. He doesn't know where this base has moved to exactly yet, so he can't charge in and attack us. While we're busy looking for him using Light's scanners, he still has to find our place, and I sincerely doubt he's got Light's scanning capabilities. Besdies, I think you're just being impatient."

"Maybe I am...but damnit, am I really that wrong in wanting to just get it over with?" Zero asked as he tried to calm himself. down.

"You might not be wrong Zero, but the timing is definitely not the best." Light commented as the others sat there. "I've got some rather bad news to deliver. Sigma's goons have been systematically destroying my smaller sensors that I've got above-ground. I may end up restricted to extremely small patches of thorough scanning and satellite everywhere else. And I don't even see these attacks coming before I lose another sensor. However, they are all coming from one general direction and headed another. "

"Then it looks like we'll have to take care of this phantom assailant." Zero commented. "Show me where it's coming from Doc."

Author's notes: Sorry for the short chapter, but I thought it was about time for an update, and I'm kinda lacking on true ideas for where to go from here at the moment. It's about my only weakness for good writing...I have no planning capabilities whatsoever. XD Read, review, flame if ya feel like it, I'll be happy to return your sentiments.


	20. Counterattack

Ch. 20 – Counter-attack

Zero could only look around through his visor at the desert surroundings as he watched for any sign of Light's sensor marauder. Anyone who could move fast enough to get past the outer edges of Light's sensors would have to kick up enough dust to be noticed at that speed. He watched as suddenly a cloud of sand seemed to arise from the horizon.

"Strange, I don't remember Light saying anything about sandstorms in this area. Logic would denote that either he just didn't mention it, or I have company coming. Time to blend in then I suppose," Zero commented to himself as he activated the weapon that X had acquired from Sting Chameleon so long ago. As he settled into the sand near the sensor he set himself up to spring as quickly as possible.

"_Has it really been so long since we took out Sigma's first attempt at a Maverick army? It doesn't really seem so long ago until I think about it, and then it seems like it's been forever._" he thought to himself as the dust cloud moved ever closer. Finally he could make out a shape appearing through the mist-like sands. "_Overdrive Ostrich? Since when could he move _that_ fast?" _Zero thought momentarily as he waited for the fleet-footed fowl to get closer to the sensor.

"This isn't good. I don't know what Sigma's done to him, but I'm gonna have to kick in the speed boosters to keep up with him. Hopefully he can't use that kind of speed in a full-force fight," he commented to himself as he waited those few more precious moments.

Overdrive Ostrich reveled in the new power that was his. Sigma had said that upgrades were coming to all of them, but he hadn't imagined that the head Maverick had meant anything like this. The speed was unbelievable. The only thing faster than himself was a teleporter beam. Or so he had been led to believe. As he dashed towards the next sensor he suddenly found himself coming into contact with what could best be described as a red and gold blur. The hit sent him off-balance, causing him to miss his intended target with the sonic boom from his sudden stop.

"Who dares to tread upon my path now?" He asked as he finally skidded to an uneven stop. He looked back to see a certain Crimson Reploid standing upon the nearest sand dune, the insane mane of hair blowing in the sudden wind left behind Overdrive's backwash.

"You know damned well who I am Overdrive, so I see no need to waste time with the formalities. I'll give you one chance to surrender before I tear you apart and send you back to the scrap yard that Sigma had to have rebuilt you from after X got through with you last time."

"You. Feh. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into you degenerate. Only us Mavericks can truly understand the greatness of Sigma's designs."

"Try me, I dare you."

"Why should we bother? You're not going to be swayed to see our point of view again. You've made your choice obviously clear. The human beings can't rule themselves, they're destined to destroy themselves. If we rule over them, at least then they have a chance of survival."

"You're forgetting something though Overdrive."

"And what is that?"

"Fate, Luck and Man's Decisions. They determine who and what we are. Fate gives us a set of paths, and our decisions combined with luck decide which path we shall take. We human beings-"

"_WE_ human beings? What is this we? You're one of us you fool, or are you so brain-sick that your circuits are truly beginning to suffer meltdown?"

"We human beings are extremely good at making sure that we avoid destruction." Zero suddenly flashed out of his armor for a moment. "We human beings created Robots. We humans created Reploids. If necessary, we can dismantle every one of them as well." Zero flashed back into his armor once more. "I'll only ask one more time Overdrive."

"Take your offer and shove it."

"Oh well, I told my girlfriend it wouldn't work, but she wouldn't listen to me. She's the one who prefers to avoid fighting, or else I'd feel bad about tearing you apart again. But since it's me and not her, I don't feel so bad. Matter of fact, I just might enjoy this." Zero reached back and pulled the hilt of the Z-saber from it's socket, igniting it with the point ending in the sand, melting the surrounding patch into glass.

"Bah, you're no better than I am." Overdrive spat into the sand.

"We'll just have to see then, won't we?" Zero stated as he suddenly disappeared from normal view.

Overdrive watched as Zero came at him with a speed not seen in his previous battles.

"So, you've been holding back in all of your previous battles. Sigma was right after all." Overdrive suddenly ducked under the saber slash intended to rob his head of it's connection to his neck. "Your power truly has improved. Too bad the boss has been holding us all back as well. But now we've all been released from our limits. We've been finally allowed to use the improvements that he designed for us. You will regret the day you released the demons." Overdrive said as he sidestepped the next slash from the saber.

"I may have been holding back before Overdrive, but what makes you think that I'm not still?" Zero commented as he ducked under a flurry of slashes from the blades that had popped out of the sides of Overdrive's arms.

"Easy, the very strain of the power output on your body is beginning to show in the air around you. Your design is one of the best for a balanced Reploid, but it's no match when compared to us specialists." Overdrive ducked under the massive boot of Zero's roundhouse and suddenly dashed in and uppercutted the Class S Hunter. Zero could only try to twist himself to land on his feet as he flew.

"_Doc, what's going on? I can't detect anything different about him, but he's faster and stronger than he's ever been before._" Zero commented through the mental communications.

"_We're not sure just yet Zero, but we're working on it as quickly as we can. Part of the problem is that he's not really holding still long enough to get a good reading for any of the scanners, including your suit's built-in ones. If you can slow him down, that would make it significantly faster._" Light commented as Zero threw another punch, only to have Overdrive slide under it and grab his arm.

"_Right then, I'll see what I can do about that._" Zero said as he seamlessly flew through the air for a moment again, thanks to Overdrive's shoulder throw.

"Come on ya overgrown chicken, you're gonna have to do better than that." Zero taunted as he effortlessly landed once more.

"We'll see who suffers from foul play when I'm through with you." Overdrive commented as he closed the gap between them rapidly.

"Oh for shit's sake, so now you do corny comedy jokes too? What else got an improvement, did you manage to find a way to prevent molting?" Zero asked as he slid his foot down for a sweep which Overdrive effortlessly jumped over to begin skidding to another stop.

"The joke will be on you-"

"By the end of the fight, yeah yeah, heard it before, been there, done that, got the T-shirt, been on the T-shirt, made a better one. Bring it featherduster." Zero taunted, resocketing the Z-saber. "There, I'll even take it easy on you." He began to charge the Z-busters as he railed against Overdrive.

Overdrive quickly closed the distance, trying to use his speed to overrun Zero's defenses again, only to find Zero suddenly sped up immensely. As he began to launch punches and kicks, he could only swear profusely as his blows all failed to hit the intended target. Zero on the other hand was only waiting for that one fateful opportunity to knock Overdrive into mid-air for easy aiming purposes. His aim was good, but at this close range, he would also be caught in the blast and there was a chance for Overdrive's new speed to make it a rather difficult targeting situation, and Zero's aim wasn't _quite_ as good as X's, much to his chagrin.

Zero watched as Overdrive's anger suddenly pushed him that little bit into one punch, where Zero could slide under it and return the uppercut from earlier. As Overdrive flew upwards he could only watch as the arm cannons suddenly morphed into place over Zero's fists, already aiming upward at the suddenly airborne bird.

"Goodnight for the last time Overdrive." Zero commented before letting both blasts loose. He had already teleported out before the pieces could even hit the ground.

"Well then, so much for them taking out my sensors," Dr. Light commented as the battle ended and Zero teleported back in. "Good work out there Zero. I'm pleased you remembered the power boost your saber gives you."

"Doesn't take much to remember it when you can feel the boost in your entire system Doc. Besides, it's a battle instinct of sorts."

"That's true and-" Light was cut off as his alarms suddenly went off again. "How on earth? Oh, I see. They're scanning for my sensors now and destroying them at a distance. Wonderful. It seems I'm suddenly being sniped."

"Sniped?" Crystal asked.

"Yes, they're using plasma rifles capable of firing accurately out beyond my sensor range. Not quite as effective as Overdrive was since I can see them coming, but they work well enough since my sensors are incapable of moving."

"What's the plan Doc?" Zenton asked.

"I'm going to have to send all of you out other than Crystal. They're attacking in too many places at once for any one of you to handle. Zero, I'm sending you into the Appalachian mountain range east of here. Zenton will go to the mountain range in the east. Alia I'm sending into the forests up north, though I'm giving you a slight color makeover on your armor first dear, pink doesn't go well with foliage." Alia nodded. "X I'm sending to the deserts in the south-west. Your longe range expertise will come in handy as wide open as it is down there. Toronto and Signas I'm sending out as one team to the southern areas, down near the swamplands. Signas should be able to deflect most of the shots and Toronto can take care of any of the larger reploids and animals in the area."

"Yes, sir." All six echoed as they teleported out.

"Doc?" Crystal spoke.

"Yes, my dear?"

"This could be a problem, couldn't it?" She asked as she took her place at the communications.

"Actually, it already is. My scanners are part of what have given us such an advantage up till now. I'm already down to seventy percent of what I was capable of. And the attacks are still continuing."

"I was afraid of that." She said as she started in on patching all of the communications together.

Zero came down on a wind blown cliff.

"Wonderful," he commented as he solidified. "I never was fond of mountains. Seems a shame to have to fight up here though. Nature can be rather peaceful at times." As he looked around he was forced to dodge a rockfall from above him. "Well then, I guess we're gonna have to start this off already."

Zero was forced to run arond the cliff for a few moments before being able to finally spot the assailant. "Slash Beast, get down here and fight me you coward!" He shouted as he dodged a few more boulders.

"Fine then, it's not as if you'll truly be a challenge anyway." Slash Beast yelled as he dropped from the overhang. As Zero watched he had a wrenching feeling in his gut. Slash's next movements told him his feeling was true.

"_Doc, you need to pull Alia, Signas, Tor, and Zen back out of the field, Overdrive wasn't the only one who's been upgraded. Slash Beast is moving at over double his old speed rate._" Zero thought through to Light as he dodged away from the wall he was next to just in time for Slash Beast to impale the harmless rock instead of the Crimson Wonder himself.

"_Too late already Zero, I'll do what I can to keep them all safe though._"

"_Just don't let down your own guard, Doc. What's in that base right now is more precious to me than anything out here._"

"_Don't worry about me Zero, I'll be fine,_" Crystal's bright voice sounded over the comms.

Zero could only dodge as Slash seemed intent on literally rushing him at every opportunity. Fortunately his normal speed was even enough to keep himself out of the charge path each time.

"_How long can the others hold out against enemies of this caliber though?_" He thought to himself as he continued to dodge.

Alia found herself mentally thanking Light for all the combat training that he had forced her to go through under Zero and X. Web Spider was giving her a hell of a run for her money.

"_Go for his energy crystal on his back, Alia, that's his weak point._" She heard X break through over the comms.

"_Roger._" She responded crisply.

"_Now to just find an opportunity to get the drop on him instead of the other way around._" As she throught momentarily her instincts told her to move. Not a moment too soon, as she rolled she narrowly avoided being snared by a Lightning Web. She fired blindly into the tree, hoping to at least hit any portion of the arachnid Reploid. She was rewarded by a loud grunt and a piece of one of his legs dropping through the trees all of a sudden.

"You will pay for that wench." He said as his face suddenly appeared through the leaves of the tree.

"And you'll regret making that the last insult you ever speak." As she spoke she brought the pistol up and took aim for the only way she could find to get inside his new armor.

"Please don't make me lau-" Web Spider was suddenly cut off as the pistol bolt shot down his throat and straight into his power generator. Alia teleported out as the explosion engulfed the nearby area.

Toronto and Signas were both moving rather slowly thanks to the muck and grime of the swamp. Unfortunately for them, it was nothing to Wheel Gator.

"This is entirely too easy. Even X put up more of a fight than the two of you will. What was your commander thinking?"

"He thought to confuse you perhaps. Or perhaps even better, he didn't bother to think, since he's as well aware of your limits as we are." Toronto responded.

"We will see about that." Wheel responded as he slid beneath the surface.

"This isn't good Toronto," Signas stated. "I have no clue where he is in all this muck."

"That won't be an issue Signas. I can still sense him."

"Wait a minute, you've got some sort of radar?"

"Something of that sort. Jump, now." Toronto rumbled, Signas leaping not a moment too late as Wheel Gator exploded from the water. Before Wheel Gator could regain the comfort of the swamp, he found himself suddenly caught by Toronto.

"I also suspect that you weren't expecting someone entirely capable of not only holding, but crushing your weight, were you?" Toronto spoke as he began to apply pressure to his already crushing hold. Wheel Gator could only scream as the pressure threatened to destroy his internals. He finally managed to wriggle free of Tor's grasp, only to find the swamp muck invading his now exposed mechanical workings. He threw several buzzsaws, only to have them deflected by Tor's broadsword. Tor suddenly thrust through the water, closing the gap between himself and Wheel Gator, making contact with an uppercut that not only lifted Wheel Gator out of the muck, but sent him slying a good ten meters as well. As soon as Wheel could make contact with the water, he was once again caught up in Tor's crushing hold, with no way to get free this time.

"Now, I think it is time that you surrendered to your fate." Tor suddenly released his grip on Wheel Gator's body, only to catch him again around the head, and proceeded to crush it like a tin can. "I believe that Dr. Light was wanting more scrap materials."

Signas could only stand and look at the human-turned-Reploid titan. "I guess that's one way to get it," he said as evenly as he could manage. "Makes me wonder what on earth he even sent me out here with you for."

"Easy enough. You spotted him from the distance back there, something I wasn't going to manage on my own. And by the time I would've spotted him on my own, I'd have already been close enough for him to locate. This way, we were able to get close enough, and I was able to get a mental lock onto him before he was able to escape my view."

"Mental lock?"

"Yes, it's one of my magical abilities."

"Didn't even know magic existed. Always seemed like fairy tales to me."

"It's real enough. Don't tell me you never saw Zenton throwing lightning around during practice."

"I saw it, but I thought it was just a built-in ability that he had, like most Reploids."

"That would be the case if him, Zero, and I weren't all humans in the first place. My magic is more passive than his is though. My immense size, the broadsword, and the ability to track people and Reploid's minds are my only abilities. But if I don't get a mental lock on to someone at least once before, I can't track them. I can tell that they're there, and a general area, but I can't pinpoint them like I just did."

"I see. So it's not so much a radar as it is a homing beacon."

"I suppose you could put it that way. We should probably get back though." Toronto rumbled, moments before the white and black teleporter beams shot out of the swamplands.

X was having way too much fun with this fight.

"What on earth even possessed Infinity Mijinion to think he can outshoot me?" X said as he watched the red dot appear on his armor once more.

"Five...four...three..two...one...dodge." X counted off as he looked down at the dot. He stepped one spot to his left and let the plasma trail slide by his shoulder. He took off like a bat out of hell, leaning forward and kicking in the boosters towards where the shot had to have come from. Mijinion saw the S-class Hunter heading for him and panicked, dropping the still overheated plasma rifle in his hurry to escape. X merely lifted one arm cannon and fired, hitting the mark first time and skidding to a stop as the remains began to rain down.

"That was entirely too easy to be it," X commented as he waited for the other bomb to drop. He was surprised when he waited for a full thirty seconds and still nothing else happened. "Strange. Very strange indeed," he commented before he teleported out.

Zenton could only look around at the mountains surrounding him.

"Strange, I can feel the life energy of the surroundings up here. I've never been able to do that before. Perhaps this is something I should look into some time while I have a chance. For now though, I have a mission to do." He sighed as he began to bounce his way from ledge to ledge up the mountainside. As he neared the top he stopped momentarily to take in the view. Suddenly the rock face next to him shattered as a plasma bolt exploded on it, scorching a ring around the small crater.

"Damn it, I'm getting careless," Zen muttered to himself as he ducked behind a nearby boulder. "Time to pick up the pace then I guess."

As Zenton prepared to leap from his hiding place another bolt shattered the rock face on this side as well. As he looked up he spotted normal sniper bot.

"Alright, now I'm just plain offended. I don't even get a unique Reploid, I just get to fight a shitload of you damned sniper bots." Zenton said as he began to jump from ledge to ledge, making his way further up to the cliff the snipers were on. His arrival was marked by the launching of one bot after another over the edge. Those that he couldn't knock over the edge with his axe he bodily picked up and threw off the cliffside.

"_Dr. Light, come in._" He said into the comms as he finished up. _"I don't see anymore bots up here, you wanna do a scan and make sure for me?_"

"_I'd be happy to if I had the capability Zenton, but they managed to knock enough of them offline in that area that I'm no longer capable of the scanning I was. Return to base, we're going to have to make some preparations here soon._"

"_Roger that._" Zenton replied moments before his white beam moved to blend in with the clouds.

Zero continued to bounce off walls, avoiding Slash Beast's attempts to impale him.

"Come on Slash, this is getting tiresome. You can't catch me, and I haven't even turned up the speed yet. Just give it up." Zero stated as he stopped and waited for Slash Beast to free his arm from the wall once more.

"I never give in. I never have, I never will, I don't care how many times I have to be rebuilt." Slash growled out as he yanked his arm and energy blade free once more.

"Don't say I didn't give you the chance then." Zero said as he pulled the Z-saber out and ignited it. "Let's dance then."

Zero briefly brought the hilt of the saber in front of his face in salute, before dashing towards Slash Beast, catching him off-guard. Even with his new speed, Zero's saber moved too fast for him to defend against. Cuts appeared in numerous places in his armor, though none as of yet would've been fatal. Zero jumped back as Slash fell to one knee.

"One last chance Slash, give it up. We can rid you of the Maverick Virus. Rid you of Sigma's control." Zero commented as he socketed the saber.

"I joined Sigma of my own accord. There is nothing to rid me of. Honor demands that I finish my fight, whether I win or lose. I will not bow down to humans, I will not beg for scraps at their sides. I am a Reploid, I am superior in every aspect." Slash growled out as he stood back up and reignited the energy blades. Zero merely closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"I was hoping you wouldn't look at it that way, but apparently I was hoping for too much. So be it then," he said as he reopened his eyes and retrieved the saber again. An after-image was left in Slash's vision as Zero moved forward, under the counter-attack and sliced through Slash's mid-section. Zero stopped and resocketed the saber as the explosion rocked the cliff behind him.

"When will they learn that they can't beat me?" He said as he teleported out.


	21. Frozen Past

Ch. 21 _Frozen Past_

"Well then," Dr. Light was saying as Zero rematerialized in the center of the room, Crystal quickly moving to his side. "It appears that despite their enhancements, we're still a step ahead of the Mavericks."

"We won't be for long at this rate, Doc," Zero said quickly. "Slash Beast was never quite that strong before, nor was he as fast. And his speed was nothing compared to Overdrive's. I'm not sure how much you have or possibly could boost the abilities of everyone in this room, but Overdrive even gave me a run for my money without my saber boosting my systems. We have to find a way to balance things out, or else they're gonna overrun us one way or another."

"You may be right, Zero. I've been meaning to upgrade X at the least. The best I can do for Zenton and Toronto is an upgrade to Zenton's armor, and to get some armor for Toronto that could possibly bring his speed up a few notches. Alia, I may have to just keep here in the base for back-up. There's not much I can maximize in her system without having to rework all of her positronics. I'm not sure how she feels about that idea, but I for one am aware that it will more than likely not be a pleasant process. As for Signas, his system has nearly been maximized already. His design is one that was designed for maximum efficiency in the first place."

"Then we'll have to make due with what we've got until you can upgrade X, Tor, and Zen's armor." Zero commented, shifting out of his armor to bring himself down to where Crystal's head was actually at his chest level instead of closer to his stomach. "I'm just gonna have to up the training schedule a bit for the rest of us in the meantime, see if I can find a way to surpass our system limits."

"Also, Zero, if I could, I'd like to take your saber off your hands for a short while." Dr. Light asked.

"What for?" Zero asked, somewhat nervous about being without his main weapon.

"I've done multiple tests on it before, but there are still a few things in it's design that I haven't been able to quite figure out just yet. If it's alright with you, I'd like to see if I can finish that research so that I can possibly increase either it's capabilities, or the abilities of your suit to feed off of the saber itself."

"Alright," Zero replied as he shifted back into his armor and set the saber on a small pedestal that Light brought out of the floor. "Though I'm curious as to how you re-created it when you don't know how it works yet."

"Oh, I didn't recreate it. This is the original Z-saber, as the pack on your back is the same pack that Zero stored it in, just with a few modifications."

"I thought you told me when you first converted me that you'd just changed my sword into the saber."

"Well, uhm...I somewhat bent the truth on that matter." Light stated, a small amount of shame seeming to extend through the digitized voice. X merely smirked from where he was at next to Alia's station.

"Sounds to me like someone just got caught red-handed, Doc." X commented, Alia beginning to giggle furiously from her seat.

"Alright children, enough poking fun at the doctor, all of you find something constructive to do with your time." Light said, chuckling in spite of himself. "Except for you, X. I'll have to get a start now on those upgrades in order to get them finished in time for the next estimated Maverick attack."

"Alright, Doc, not like I haven't been put back in hibernation before." X said, stopping to give Alia a short kiss before she went out the door, then continuing his way up to the capsule that extended out from the wall next to Dr. Light's main screen.

"Alia, I'd appreciate it if you could stick around for a small while as well. I need to speak with you on a few matters as well." Dr. Light said, as the capsule with X slid back into the wall.

"Very well, " she said, turning around before she went out the door, letting the others continue on their way.

Zero and the others were already headed for their main playground, Light's Training Room. As they went in, they found Toronto already in the middle of the room. Zero watched, the others stopping a second later, as Toronto began to move through a few movements, going through what seemed to be a kata of sorts. His eyes were closed as he moved purposefully, his movements giving off signals to the amount of control he exerted. A small flash was seen as his broadsword suddenly appeared in his hands, the movements speeding up to a tempo twice the speed he'd moved at before. Zero could only watch in appreciation as Toronto moved to a stop once more, the swings of the sword seeming to slow down. Just as everyone was about to move once more, they saw Toronto begin to move again, a second sword appearing in his other hand. He began to swing them around in patterns that only Zero's eye could follow as the light refracted off the quickly spinning blades. Just as suddenly as they'd appeared, they vanished, leaving Toronto to himself as he finished where he'd been when they came in. Zero was the first to move again.

"Now Tor, that was an exquisite performance, but I've only got one question to ask after seeing that, " Zero commented, a grin lighting up his face as he moved.

"Oh? And just what question would that be, O great red leader?" Tor responded, an amused tone present in his usual rumble.

"When the hell did you learn to use two of those damned things? Cuz that would've been really helpful at some point earlier in time, I'm sure." Zero asked, shaking his head as he did so.

"Ahh, simple, I've always been able to call forth two at one time. But I've never had a need for two of them. In any situation I've been in that I needed my blade, I've only needed the one. Besides, in a real fight, a lot of times, only having the one blade is preferrable to having two. Rarely do I ever need a second edge to block with. Given the...enhancement, that I've received here lately, I'm not even sure if I would need that against an ordinary blade. However, since most of our foes seem to be more fond of the energy blades, I'm usually in need of my sword."

"That's an awful long-winded explanation for something that could've been awful short, Tor," Zenton said, taking a small jab at his brother.

"That's alright, I always was a bit long-winded, much preferrable to being full of hot air as someone else I know," Tor replied, returning the shot at Zenton.

"Alright, that's it, bring it you oversized troll! " Zen shouted, as he dove at his brother from the edge of the room, warping himself to close the distance. Toronto merely caught him and threw him to the nearest wall, both of them grinning from ear to ear.

"Hoo boy, sibling rivalry at it's best," Zero said as he and Crystal made their way to the control booth from doorway. Signas merely chuckled as he waited near the door itself. "I wonder what happened to X and Alia. They were with us before we left the main room."

"Actually," Crystal started as they entered the booth. "You weren't paying attention when Light asked X to stay behind so he could start X's upgrades, and I heard him ask Alia to stay there for a few minutes as we were all headed out the doorway."

"Well then, I can expect them to be a while. X's upgrades sound like they're gonna take a while for Light to finish, and heaven only knows what he's kept Alia for. If it's something the Doc's cooked up though, chances are that it'll be for the best. I feel really damned naked without my saber though."

"Hmm, that's odd, you look fully clothed to me, which is a pity." Crytal commented archly.

"Your opinion on that matter doesn't quite count, babe." Zero replied, through he couldn't keep himself from grinning as Crystal snaked herself under his arm again.

"Well, tell ya what, you keep these guys entertained for a while, I'm gonna go take a nap. All that stress this afternoon wore me out." She said, pulling herself out from under Zero's arm, and shaking her hair loose as she walked out of the booth. Zero hit the switch to bring up the wall seperating the area just in front of the booth from the rest of the chamber, a counter-measure he'd put up the first time a stray shot had almost hit Crystal. As she walked out of the chamber, Signas finally made his way in towards the center of the room, and began to assault the brothers as well. As the three of them continued to fight, the chamber itself began to change around them, the floors becoming grassy and the walls seeming to expand outward. Zero suddenly leapt down from above all three, causing them to each scatter a different direction.

"Alright, fellas, I've got the system set to alter the landscape every few minutes, so let's try and get some quality time in. And I suggest you get your weapons ready. I may not have my saber, but I've still got my busters. I'm not gonna take it easy, since we're gonna have to step it up a notch to keep up with the Mavericks. It's time to really see what you've learned in the past couple months." Zero comented as his arms formed into the Z-busters.

He aimed one to each side of himself at Signas and Zenton, releasing the blasts only to find himself a target as they were deflected, Signas using his saber and Zenton using a spell. He backflipped out of the way only to get charged by Toronto and the broadsword. Ducking under the blade he kicked out with his massive Reploid feet, easily knocking Tor's leg out from under him, only to turn and find Zenton and Signas already engaged in a lockdown between the saber and the massive axe. He could only grin and charge his busters as they seemed intent upon shoving each other the other direction, before Zenton reversed his direction and sent Signas flying over him. As Zero stood he realized a moment too late that he had already forgotten about Tor, who had managed to grab him and begin to crush him, much as he'd done to Wheel Gator. As he tried to wriggle free, he realized with a start that he couldn't so much as budge with the grip that Tor was applying.

"_Well damn, this is new. When was the last time someone actually got the drop on me? Oh, yeah, not since I got my latest ego-boost. Just goes to show that even I'm not completely invincible._" He thought to himself as searched for a way to break the hold. Getting an idea, he let the charge on the cannons run up to their maximum, quickly transforming them the moment he had the full limit. He began to twist with a new fervor, throwing Tor's balance off slightly, firing the cannons the moment he got the momentum going the way he needed, sending both of them flying off to the side, the landing throwing them apart. As Zero rolled to his feet, stopping in a low slung three-point stance, the other hand instinctively going for his missing saber. He looked up to find Tor already back up to hands and feet, the skid marks extending for several feet between them.

"Ya know...Tor...you seem...to be the one...who is always...catching me off guard, "Zero said in between breaths. "Why is that?"

"Probably...because you keep forgetting...that even a slow opponent can move...with enough speed...if you're already distracted." Tor replied, standing up fully now, a grin on his face matching the one on his opponent's.

"Good point. Now, let's see what happens if I'm paying attention."

"By all means, let's."

Toronto once again charged at Zero, the column of his arm swinging back for another haymaker. As he swung, Zero slid sideways under the punch, repeating the maneuver from before, already starting into the foot sweep that had caught Tor the last time. Zero could only continue to spin as his adversary jumped over the oversized boot, coming down with both hands clasped for a hammer strike to Zero's head. The crimson reploid quickly jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the massive strike, leaving the ground to absorb the damage. As Toronto landed and struck, the ground split with a new force leading in a line straight for Zero who jumped quickly to the side, having seen techniques similar before. The ground continued to explode on the line, heading straight for Zenton and Signas who both jumped backwards quickly to avoid the devastating path. The wall exploded where the floor finally ended.

"Holy shit bro," Zenton muttered, barely loud enough for everyone to hear. "I don't know where the hell that came from, but it's definitely new." He turned to grin at the now slightly winded giant.

"Well," Toronto finally rumbled. "I didn't know I could do that before."

Crystal walked past the doors of the main room, and couldn't help but stop to listen for a moment as Dr. Light and Alia were talking. It seemed Light was talking to Alia about something that they'd discussed once before.

"I know you mentioned before Alia that you'd like to see her. While I've got X on standby being upgraded, I thought I'd offer you a chance to do so."

"Really?" Alia excitedly responded. Crystal hadn't heard her sound so excited since she'd finally accepted that X was alive. "I'd love that Doctor Light. I don't wanna distract you from your work on X though. Would be kinda bad if you were to screw up a circuit or something because you're busy showing her to me."

"Nonsense my dear. If you'll head over to that platform over there. And if you'll pardon me for just a moment, I need to take care of something right quick."

Crystal realized a moment too late that Dr. Light knew she was in the hall. As she turned to try and quietly sneak away a monitor came sliding down out of the ceiling in front of her.

"You, my dear, are invited to see her as well." Dr. Light could only smirk as he calmly spoke to her.

"EEP!" was the only response the redhead could get out since Light had spoke right as he slid down in front of her. She regained her composure a moment later and quickly became agitated. "Don't do that to me! It's not good for me!" She yelled at the monitor, causing yet another smirk from Light, and a small but very audible giggle from Alia on the other side of the doorway.

As Crystal walked around the doorway, she found Alia holding both hands over her mouth.

"It's alright, you can laugh if you want," Crystal muttered, her face red with embarassment over getting caught and then surprised so easily by the doctor. "I suppose I really should've known better than to try and be sneaky around you, eh Doc?" She asked as she stepped onto the small circular platform that Alia was already standing on. As she stepped on it, it began to slide down into the floor.

"That's strange," Alia commented. "I don't remember seeing a lower level in the floor plans for the main base."

"That's because there isn't actually a lower level in the main base, Alia." Dr. Light told her as the lift continued on it's downward path through what seemed to be nothingness. "It happens to be though that we're over where my lab was originally. I've moved it several times over the years. Since we're here, I need to check on her systems anyway. If the tests have all passed finally, then perhaps I can thaw her out and give us someone else to help out. It would also allow me to activate your systems fully Alia, giving you access to the more emotionally based side of your capabilities."

Alia's face brightened at that notion, while Crystal's went from slightly lost to outright confused.

"I'm sorry, but I have no clue what the hell we're talking about," The petite redhead finally blurted out. She quickly put both hands on her mouth as she realized exactly what she had said, her face quickly matching her hair color once again. "Whoops! Sorry, I wasn't trying to be rude or anything, but I'm completely lost. What are you two talking about?"

"X's sister." Dr. Light responded quickly.

"X has a sister?" Crystal quickly did a goldfish impression as the concept caught on. As she was thinking the lift finally came to a stop in a room that was slightly lit. Both Alia and Crystal stepped off of the lift only to have it sink into the floor. "You mean you created a female Reploid as well!"

"Of course I did. You surely don't think I'd create a male Reploid without adding a counterpart to him. To do so would be somewhat disastrous. I had to have something for future Reploid builders to base female designs off of. If I hadn't designed at least one, they would've all decided to either alter the basic programming on their own, which mind you would have been disastrous on the smallest possible level, or they'd have left the programming competely alone. Can you just imagine numerous female reploids with severe, overly violent mood swings all running around at one time? All because their creators were too simple to do more than slightly modify mostly male patterned thinking, or even worse, leaving it completely intact? Believe me, the idea in itself is monstrous. So I had to design a female counterpart to X's basic setup. In doing so, I made sure there was a way for the female Reploids to be true to their human ideology that they were designed to emulate." Dr. Light began to ramble on, obviously proud of his own handiwork.

"Alright then, Doc," Crystal interrupted him. "I have a few questions then," She stated as her and Alia began to follow the small path of light that were leading them away from the lift.

"First off, why haven't we seen her before now? And second, what's so important that you had to check her systems even longer than X's? Zero told me about the thirty year wait you had to have for X's systems. Or were you just holding her back until it seemed to be a choice of activate her or leave her in hibernation permanently?"

"All perfectly valid questions. As to why you haven't seen her before, I have been keeping her out of sight, hoping to keep from interrupting the tests, and to hopefully have the world brought to peace before she was activated. Making sure it was peaceful was supposed to fall to X, either through peaceful means or otherwise." Dr. Light seemed to sigh in desperation at the way his plans had all seemed to lead to only more war. "As to having to check her systems for so much longer than X's, it comes down to several very important factors, one being the impact a certain system had upon the mental programming. First off, you have to realize that a Reploid, unlike the robots that they're based off of, are what I refer to as Bio-noids."

"Bio-noids?" Crystal quickly echoed as she and Alia finally came to a pink human sized capsule that looked as if it had just been put together earlier that day. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, your ordinary robot is merely a mechaniloid, android, construct, whatever you wish to call them. They're completely mechanical. There's nothing even remotely resembling anything organic within them." Dr. Light quickly powered up all the equipment around them, bringing the lab into full light once more. The walls were the only part of the facility that showed their age, a small crack appearing in several spots. "A humanoid is a human, basically. They're purely organic, nothing resembling machinery in their bodies, at least not initially. But a Reploid is designed to be somewhat different from both. A Reploid may seem to be a robot through and through, but the only ones that are truly so are those designed outside of Cain's labs, and even then, they aren't always completely mechanic. Some of the other designers were actually smart enough to leave everything intact and just redesign the outside specs of their Reploids. But the Reploids that I designed, and therefore, that Cain designed, aren't merely robots with a different mind. The only things that are robotic are the muscles, skeletal structure, brain, and the power generator, and on some of them, the self-regenerating ability."

"Where's this leading, Doc?" Crystal asked as Alia walked over to the capsule and began to press in commands. Apparently Light had told her ahead of time what would need to be done. Either that or he was wiring commands straight into her comms.

"Where it's leading my dear, is that I designed Reploids, true Reploids, with the ability to be completely human, other than getting older. They can love, they can hurt, they can be everything a human can be, and some other things that humans can't be. And, since the tests are finally complete, and have all checked out to be positive, I can now activate the one system inside of Alia that has always lain dormant till now." Crystal gasped in shock as Dr. Light's words began to make sense. " The reproductive system that was installed in her can finally be activated, truly making her as close a replica of humankind as can be managed. As soon as I can finish the slight modifications to her emotional programming that will be necessary to deal with it, she'll be a whole new woman. And this should awaken her inherent capabilities."

"You surprise me, Doctor Light," Crystal said slowly as Alia continued to punch commands into the console, causing small pockets of air to shoot out occasionally as the capsule was slowly depressurized. "I wouldn't expect anyone to really think of adding a system like that to Reploids. And don't take this the wrong way, but I really didn't expect it from a man."

"I'm not entirely sure what made me decide that this was a system that just had to be included. But it's probably just as well. It's a way of adding a perfect imperfection to the Reploid equation."

"Perfect imperfection? Isn't that a bit of an oxymoron, Doc?" Crystal said quizzically.

"Not at all. What's one of the main problems that humans have with Reploids?" Light asked her in return.

"Well, other than their apparently infinite lifespan, I'd say probably their apparrent physical perfection. A Reploid never seems to just get sick, or have something go wrong that can't just be immediately repaired. They don't bleed, or at least they don't seem to, and they're always so strong."

"All correct. Reploids don't get sick because the portions of the biological system that most diseases attack aren't present. As to nothing ever seeming to go wrong, if you pay attention, you'll notice that actually Reploids will display moments of weakness, of unreasonable pains. Watch Zenton and Toronto sometime. They're the most recent Reploids to come into existence. The way they were created isn't really much different from Zero and X, they just happen to have biological beginnings instead of mechanical. X and Zero are both entirely different stories all to them selves. Both have been running the longest of any Reploids in existence, and both have either regenerated every part of them, or been completely regenerated to the point that they've run out of things that haven't already been repaired. Their bodies are nearly perfect now."

"That doesn't make any sense. If it can go wrong once, it can go wrong again, or so I would think," Alia commented as she looked up from the console. She glanced over at Crystal. "I've gotta let her thaw out the rest of the way naturally, so I've got some time to join the conversation." She grinned as Crystal smiled widely.

"It may not seem right, Alia," Light continued. "But that's the way it seems to be going. The self-regeneration capability is actually a small system of nano-machines that act in accordance with preprogrammed signals in Zero and X's bodies. It's actually a function of all Reploids, but because of their constant use, the system seems to have gotten somewhat of an upgrade in X and Zero. They can even regenerate the organic portions of themselves."

"You mean X has an organic portion to himself?" Alia quickly asked and then tried to hide her face behind her hands as she blushed. "Oh hell, that was a straight out slip of the tongue."

Crystal could do nothing other than laugh as the blonde Reploid uncovered her face and continued to blush.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with slightly naughty tendencies," Crystal commented.

"Shush you, not a word to the boys, they might start to get ideas." Alia quickly retorted.

"Don't make me regret this ladies," Dr. Light interjected. "And yes, Alia, there is a completely organic portion to X, but I'm not even sure if he realizes it. His system is somewhat like Zero's, only I've yet to give him the ability to change fully out of his armor. It's part of the upgrade that I intend to give him. This way you'll actually be able to take advantage of the activation of that other system of yours."

Alia began to blush a darker shade of red as Crystal started to giggle furiously, Alia finally giving in and laughing as well. As they sat there for a few minutes, the laughter renewing occasionally, the capsule seemed to finish thawing out, moving up to rest at a near standing angle. Crystal and Alia both stood to watch as it finally unsealed, revealing it's contents.

The boots were nearly identical to X's, though pink and red were the main colorations everywhere. As the lid continued to move up, they found themselves quickly comparing X's main armor to this, though there were obvious differences in the physical design, leaving no questions to the gender of this armor's owner. As it moved up, the ends of straight blonde hair could be seen, red, blue, and pink striped strands also appearing near the front. Her face was finally revealed, though she hadn't woke up yet. The different colored stripes all met at one point just above her right eye. As she woke up, she quickly reached up to the edge of the capsule and pulled herself out, the confusion quickly becoming evident in her piercing blue eyes. She stood up straight, flashing out of her armor, leaving a much slimmer version of her standing there momentarily before she toppled forward to be caught by Alia and Crystal.

"Alia, Crystal," Dr. Light said simply. "Meet Roll."


	22. Reawakening

_Ch.22 - Reawakening_

Zero and the other three had shut down the training program to take a break and gone back to the main room to check in on X, Alia, and Light. Zero had to constantly check himself to keep from reaching for his saber.

"Damnit I feel wrong without it," he muttered irritably under his breath. "That constant dependence on it makes it a weakness though. Even though I don't use it constantly I don't feel right unless I have it with me. Then again, it does help power part of my systems when it's socketed." He punched the wall in frustration, unintentionally gaining Zenton's attention. The crystal armored human turned Reploid dropped back a bit.

"Yo, what's up?" He asked Zero.

"Besides feeling completely wrong without my saber? Not much really. Kinda wonderin where Crystal is too. I looked in our room on the way here, and she wasn't in there. I'm guessing she's in the main room though."

"Good point, and Alia never did make it down to the training room, either. Wonder what they might've gotten into."

"Not sure myself, but chances are that Dr. Light's in on it too, so I'm not too worried. If they're not in the main room and Light isn't sure where they are either, _then_ I'm going to be worried."

"And knowing you, more than likely pissed off too." Zenton grinned. Zero could only grin back.

"Yes, I just might be."

Zero continued to exchange light banter with Zenton as the group continued towards the main room, when suddenly he met with the back of Toronto who had stopped suddenly.

"What the hell didja do that for Tor?" Zero asked irritably. He quickly peeked around the corner, only to be astonished at what he saw.

Dr. Light could do nothing to help the girls as they picked up the unconcious Roll and carried her between them to the lift. As they boarded it, Light was strangely silent.

"What's going on, Doc?" Crystal asked. "Usually we can't get you to be quiet, but you haven't said two words since she collapsed other than to tell us her name."

"I'm wondering in all honesty if perhaps I thawed her out a bit too soon. Or perhaps not soon enough. Her system seems to be somewhat off-balance."

"I've got a thought," Alia interrupted. "I remember you mentioned Doc that us Reploids are intended for all intents and purposes to be as human as robotically possible, yes?"

"Well, yes, that's true." Light stated. "I fail to see where this is going though."

"It's possible that perhaps you succeeded even better than you thought with Roll. It's quite likely that she's just disoriented from the long hibernation. I know X and the others, myself included, are all slightly dizzy for a few moments when we first wake back up from a recharge cycle. Maybe she's just severely disoriented. After all, you've had her in hibernation being tested for how long? Like a hundred and fifty, possibly two hundred years or more?"

"You might just be on to something there Alia. If you two think you're up to it, try and keep her from becoming too confused when she wakes back up. The last thing I need is for her to get hysteric. Imagine X with no control and you've got a good idea of what she can do. It would be better if I can get X concious again real fast before she wakes up. She'll appreciate seeing at least one familiar face, and perhaps, it will keep her from being quite so disoriented. That's why I'm going to leave her in you two's hands. If I concentrate all my capabilities on upgrading X I can finish in the next few minutes."

"We got ya covered, Doc. Take care of X, now." Crystal told him without a moment's hesitation. As she looked over at Alia, the girl between them groaned lightly, a barely audible sound even in the silence of the lift. "Something tells me he'd better hurry." She said to Alia, receiving a nod from concious one of the two blonde Reploids.

X felt himself coming back to reality once again, his internal clock telling him that it was much earlier than he'd expected to be awake again. As he jumped out of the capsule he noticed that something seemed to be off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He seemed lighter somehow. He brought his hands forward for a moment, just to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. As they came into sight, he could feel his breath catch, despite the fact that he didn't need to breathe in the first place.

"So...small. What happened? Dr. Light?" He called out into the main room.

"Yes, X?"

"What's going on? Why are my hands so small?" He finally looked down at the rest of himself. "Where the hell is my armor?"

"I figured you would probably appreciate being able to go without it when you want or need to." Light answered simply. X could merely stare down for a moment, contemplating why exactly he would need the ability to put his armor away.

"Alia," he finally said to himself as it dawned on him. A wide grin split his features. Then he remember something. "Oh, man, now I gotta find a way to get this damned hair to stay down!" He quickly reached up with his hands and began trying to smooth it all back down. Only to be walked in on by Toronto and the others. "Well, shit." He muttered before Zero poked his head around from behind the team behemoth.

Zero walked forward from his place behind Tor, expecting this a lot more than the others had. He flashed out of his armor as he walked, brining himself closer to X's unarmored height.

"Well," he stated. "It looks like you get to play with the rest of us now without having to worry about denting your armor." Zero grinned wildly for a moment before he started to laugh. "We really need to do something about your hair though." X could only join him in laughter as the lift suddenly came back up through the floor, bringing Alia, Crystal and another blonde reploid with three different colored streaks in her hair being held up between the two of them. Zero could hear X gasp beside him.

"No way," he stammered. "There's no way. Doc, tell me you didn't put her in hibernation too! And why did you wake her up now? You didn't need to wake her yet!" X rushed forward between the two girls, quickly picking up the unconcious one.

"Yes, X, I did. I believe we will need more help than we have right now. The Mavericks are increasing in power, we have no choice but to add another fighter of yours and Zero's caliber to the roster. If I could've, I'd have left her asleep until you could secure peace, but since Sigma seems unwilling to allow that any time in the near future, I figure it best to wake her up now, while we're all here and can help her readjust to her new body, and the ever slightly changed world that we exist in now." Though everyone could see the irritation on X's face, they could also see genuine concern for this girl that no one but X and Light truly knew.

As X took her to one of the chairs and sat her down, he stood up straight, though he continued to look down at the floor. Alia quickly moved to his side, hoping her presence would calm him down. It seemed to have the desired effect as his head finally came back up, his hand moving to find hers.

"All right, Doc," he calmly said. "You win. Besides, this is why you hurried my upgrade, isn't it? So that she would have someone familiar to see when she woke up the rest of the way. I'm assuming she's just suffering from hibernation disorientation."

"Damn, that's a mouth full," Zenton muttered from behind X. X merely turned and grinned at him. "What's with the stripes in her hair anyway?"

"That...that's something that she apparently decided to make a permanent part of herself. I had a similar marking at one time as well."

"Had?"

"I've been rebuilt a few times now. Unfortunately, the part of me that I had marked has been one of the unfortunate areas that had to be rebuilt. I've yet to get around to remarking it." X grinned as a thought came to him. "I can just mark it under my armor now though. As long as I can avoid getting blown to scrap again, I should be able to keep it this time."

"That still doesn't help much. So you had one too, but what's it for? Or am I being just a bit too nosy for my own good?"

"Even I have to admit, X. I'm just as curious as Zenton is," Zero commented from his place against the wall next to Crystal's seat.

"It's a symbol that the three of us agreed to keep forever."

"The three of you?" Toronto rumbled.

"Yes, the three of us. Roll, myself, and Protoman." X replied, never taking his eyes off of the stripes in Roll's hair. "We swore that we'd never be seperated if we could avoid it, and if we were, that we would never forget each other. We decided to use the three stripes, one red, one blue, and one pink, and we each marked ourselves somewhere. A bit of a robotic tattoo I guess you might say. She apparently decided to take a different approach to it after I was put into hibernation. Hell, I wasn't even aware that she was put into hibernation."

"I wasn't even aware that you had a sister, X." Alia commented from behind him.

"My apologies, X," Dr. Light interrupted once more. "That was mostly my fault. After I put you in storage, I figured you'd appreciate some familiar company in the future. I guess I hadn't counted on your typical capability to make friends so easily. Besides, if I hadn't agreed to change her into a full Reploid, she threatened to pull the plug on my system. She always was a bit temperamental at times." X and the others all began to laugh.

"Beware the red hair!" Zero intoned from his corner, quickly earning him a slap in the side from Crystal. "Ow, see, I have proof! My girlfriend's so violent!" He whined, his face looking appropriately tragic to match the phrasing. The others all lost it even further, even Crystal nearly toppling out of her chair from laughing so hard. After they all quieted down, they could hear Roll groaning a bit more.

"She seems to be coming out of it finally," X said, moving down to where his face was level with Roll's.

"_Where the hell am I?_" Roll thought as the world seemed to finally swim into focus. As she looked forward she could see a pair of green eyes and unruly black hair start to unblur. She blinked a couple more times, taking a moment to make sure that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. "Mega?" She finally asked.

"Yep, in the flesh. Well, as much in the flesh as I'll ever be." A suddenly grinning X replied. Roll fell forward from the chair pulling X into a hug fierce enough to rival Crystal's infamous welcome back glomps, tears flowing from her eyes.

"I've...missed you..so much." She said in between sobs.

"Hey now, come on, you were asleep the whole time, weren't you? It couldn't be that bad." X replied, smoothing Roll's hair, hoping it would have the same effect to calm her down that it always seemed to have on Alia.

"It wasn't the hibernation that did it, it was the days before I went into my capsule, after we put you in yours," She seemed to calm down the more she talked, though X still looked like he might have had better luck trying to escape a black hole than getting out of Roll's arms. "It got so lonely, what with you being the only one to come back from that last battle, and Protoman disappearing. It was horrible, Dr. Light and I were the only ones left in the lab after that. Once we completed putting you in the capsule, we started working on mine, but it still took too long."

"It's alright, Roll, you're here with me now. Me and my friends are here, you don't have to worry about being alone anymore." As X mentioned the others, Roll finally seemed to look around her, taking in all of the seven people surrounding her and X. Crystal and Alia were both forced to wipe a few tears away, and even Zero looked a little misty. He had a huge grin on his face, but he wasn't completely without compassion. Zenton and Toronto both waved from the seats they had taken at the single table, and Signas merely stood where he was up near the main screen, using the smaller monitors to check something.

"How many people are there here?" She asked, bewildered to see what appeared to be only one other Reploid and a whole mess of humans. "Are they all Reploids?"

"Not quite all of us are," X replied. "All but one of us at the moment, and the lucky lone human would be the little lady with the long red hair over there. And probably the only reason she hasn't been converted is because her and the guy with the equally long blonde hair over there are expecting."

"Converted? I thought Reploids had to be built? Dr. Light's the only one smart enough to create such a process." Roll began to mutter weakly.

"And so I did my dear." Light commented, his face appearing on the main monitor. "I created the process, and in doing so, created the first batch of converted Reploids. All in this room but X, Signas, and Alia were converted by me personally. And if I have my way about it, I'll be the only one doing coversions for a long time to come. I don't think I could trust anyone else to do it right." As Light continued to speak, Roll looked as if she was about to burst into tears again.

"Doc, I think we might want to give her a little while to get used to everyone before we go confusing her as to what all is going on outside of the base," Zero commented swiftly from his corner over near Crystal. Roll was still looking at the screen and trying to keep from bursting into tears.

"So you've been alive all this time, Dr. Light?" She asked quietly.

"Not quite, Roll. What you see and hear now is merely a program that has my knowledge, and is designed to look, act, and think like I did, albeit at a much faster rate thanks to my computer technology. So the program that you remember helping you finish building your capsule was merely the prototype compared to what I am now. As I watched the world over the years, I looked for holes and problems in my programming, and corrected them. That's the only difference you'll find between me now, and how I was back then." Light commented quickly, his computerized voice somehow conveying what seemed to be an almost loving tone to the obviously less stable of his two 'children'.

"Alright. I guess that works." Roll slowly stood up, finally releasing her hold on X, who was quickly helped to his feet by Alia, who proceeded to put him in a slightly less firm hug. Roll began to move around a little, obviously trying to get used to her somewhat new body. "Yeesh, I'm beginning to wonder if I should've had you make me a new body back then instead of having the capsule take care of most of it, Dr. Light. I've been asleep for so long, I can barely remember how it used to feel to move around, let alone getting used to this new body."

"That's quite alright my dear, this will work out better for you in the end. Since you can barely remember how it used to be, then you'll barely have anything left to readjust to. Just be aware that this body is much stronger than your old one. As you're standing now, your strength is above what Mega's used to be in his armor. In your armor, your strength is nearly double what it is now." Light told her, trying to quickly impress upon her how much of an upgrade she'd really gotten.

"Good grief," Zero could be heard muttering from his corner.

"What now, Z?" X looked over at him.

"I just got to thinking, if we're that strong without our armor, just how damned heavy is this suit of mine? I know it shouldn't be _that_ heavy, but it sure felt like it when I fried it." Zero replied, thinking back to the first time he had released the suit's power limits.

"I don't know, but I'm going to bet that frying a good deal of the circuitry, and probably frying a little bit of your own body's circuits probably combined to make it seem a lot heavier than it actually was, because I didn't have too many problems holding you up after that." X responded, quickly resolving to ask Light some time soon as to whether or not his armor could be fried like that now since he was no longer directly connected to it all the time.

Roll had walked over to where Zero and Crystal were. As she neared them she slowed down for a moment, and seemed to almost get too shy to get near them. She finally managed to work up the nerve to get a little closer though, and began to smile very widely.

"Hi, I'm Roll," She said cheerfully. "Who're you two?" Zero chuckled a bit from his corner, and Crystal spun her seat to face Roll.

"I'm Crystal, and this big blonde oaf here is my boyfriend. Everyone calls him Zero, I usually just call him whatever I damned well please though." Crystal pointed over at the Crimson Wonder, who had yet to leave his spot leaning against the wall. He began to pout a bit.

"I'm not a big oaf. I have more brains than that. And besides, I can turn into a mighty warrior to protect humanity, so that automatically takes me out of the oaf category." He began to grin as his smartass attitude started to show itself a bit more. Roll couldn't help but giggle as the couple began to fire jokes back and forth.

"If it's not too much trouble," Roll queried as she looked at Zero, " could I see what you look like in your armor? I wouldn't ask, but I'd hate to have to try and memorize who's who out in the middle of a battlefield."

"Completely understandable," Zero replied, quickly moving away from the wall to stand up straight and shift into his armor. He looked down at himself and realized just how much taller he really did get when he changed. "You don't realize how big your hands are when you're like this until you stop and look at them compared to a normal human being's head." He commented abstractedly. Roll could only stare for a moment as she now had to look up even further to see Zero's face.

"You get tall, don't you?" She asked, earning a giggle from Crystal.

"No arguments there," Zero replied, grinning again before he changed back out of his armor. "Still not big enough to match Toronto though. I'm gonna hate to see what he looks like once he gets some armor. He might as well be a damned building as it is."

"I'm not quite that big." Roll jumped forwared with a quick yelp as Toronto spoke from right behind her. He'd apparently gotten up and decided to come over while she'd been talking to Zero.

"Hey, X!" Zero yelled, gaining the Blue Bomber's attention. "I just realized something."

"What's that?" X asked.

"Now that you can change out of your armor, that makes you even shorter!"

"That's it, come here!" Both X and Zero suddenly changed into their armor and began flying around the room, X trying to catch Zero, and Zero staying just a step ahead of him, teleporting when necessary. As he finally stopped up on the roof for a moment, X couldn't help but stop and laugh as Zero's hair once more fell down below his head. "You know, you really should try doing that to one of your opponents some time. Every time I see you with your hair hanging upside down like that I can't help but stop and laugh."

"Pfft, you have a sense of humor, most Mavericks don't, in case you don't remember. Besides, something tells me that Sigma probably wouldn't take too kindly to one of them laughing. Well, other than the usual psychotic 'Look at me I'm evil!' laugh that they're all so fond of." Zero replied, dropping down and flipping himself over in mid-flight.

"Please don't remind me. I got so damn tired of hearing that while I was stuck with them." X's chagrined response was accompanied by him slapping his forehead and shifting out of his armor at the same time. "Ouch. That's gonna take some getting used to. No helmet in the way anymore."

"Maybe I should keep an eye on you for a few days till you get used to not having the armor. Might have to keep you from hurting yourself." Zero laughed as he jested with the Blue Bomber.

"Yeah yeah, spare me, Crimson Wonder." X replied. When he finally took a seat, he looked up to find Roll giving him an odd look. "What's the matter, Sis?"

"Where's your mark?" She replied quizzically. X's face became somewhat flush with embarrasment.

"It's umm...kinda gotten blown off a few times."

"How'd you manage that?"

"Well, I've been scrapped a couple times. Zero still has me beat though, I think he's been killed three or four times now. We just put him back together and turn him back on, and he usually runs better than new."

"You make me sound like a crash dummy, X. Pick me up and put me back together, yeesh." Zero responded indignantly from where he'd moved over in his corner near Crystal again.

"Well, that's basically the idea."

"Maybe, but couldn't you have at least found a slightly more decent way to put it?"

"Nah, I think it sounds good the way I phrased it."

"That's it, now it's your turn, get over here!" Zero and X once again began to chase each other around the room. Crystal could only laugh, Alia and Roll joining her over at her seat.

"You know, you could probably power the base just off the energy those two use chasing each other around." Roll commented between giggles.

"Nah, we'd probably blow the base up more than likely. Besides, I think it's some obscure way of getting in training outside of the schedule. This happens on average at least once every half hour outside of the training room. In the training room it's even worse. It's more like every thirty seconds. I pity the person who decides to take those two on at one time though. Once they turn on something at the same time, it's uncanny to watch them move. Alia and X can put on a show like no other, even catch Zero off-guard most of the time, but watching X and Zero go after one target is insane. You can't even watch them part of the time, all you end up seeing is an after-image." Crystal's tone became more serious as she told Roll of Zero and X's teamwork.

"You're kidding me. How long have they known each other now?"

"I'm not even sure. Technically, this incarnation of Zero isn't the original, but his mind has melded with that of the original, so it's essentially the same, and apparently the body design hasn't changed any either, even when he was human. But anyway, overall, I think they've known each other for close to a hundred and fifty, maybe two hundred years. I'm not sure of the actual total, but I know it's somewhere in that range." Crystal looked over to see the shock evident on Roll's face.

"Have I really been in hibernation that long?" Roll almost silently asked. "But why? Why was I allowed to stay asleep so long?"

"It's because of your systems, Roll. Light told me that the tests on your body's systems took a lot longer than X's. Because of a couple extra systems that had to be in place." Alia told her, taking a place on the other side from Crystal. "And it's a good thing he did set it to test you for so long. From Light's told us, if he hadn't done all those tests, the results would've been less than great, to say the least."

"I see. Well then, I guess there's no help for it now." Roll still seemed to be somewhat saddened by the fact of how much time she'd missed. She looked up to the main monitor. "Exactly what all have I missed, Doc?"

"Well," Dr. Light said. "Quite a bit actually, but that's okay, I'm sure between me and the others we can get you filled in rather quickly."

Several hours later, after letting Roll in on recent history and giving her some time to rest from it all, Zero had finally decided to drag her down to the training room, after retrieving his saber from Dr. Light. The room shifted to a grassy hillside as Zero took his place across from Roll.

"Be warned, Roll, I have no intentions of going any easier on you just because you just woke up. While I won't kill you in training, I don't have any choice but to be rough on everyone, meaning if Dr. Light can repair it, more than likely, I'm gonna try for it. The Mavericks have been increasing in power here lately, and I can't take a chance on anyone being trained poorly enough to be beaten." Zero said, pulling out his saber and igniting it, though he did turn down the power output. After all, as long as they thought he was going all out, then they'd go all out as well, making them fight to their max potential. And max potential was what Zero needed to see out of all of them lately.

"Don't worry about me. Dr. Light told you that my fighting capability is just as great as Mega's." Roll said from across him. She dashed in, attempting to catch Zero off guard with speed. As her punch swung through an after-image she could do nothing but stand when she suddenly felt a swift wind whip around her as Zero dodged to the side and around to end up behind her.

"You may have X's power, but what you don't have is his battle experience. And that's what I intend to give you a crash course in." Before Roll could turn around Zero was already bringing his gargantuan foot around for a roundhouse. Roll ducked under it, counting on the momentum to keep him moving long enough for her to stand back up. Zero spun faster all of a sudden, bringing an elbow down on Roll's exposed mid-section. The ground exploded under them as Roll slammed down, her breath smashed out of her lungs. She quickly rolled backwards and flipped up to her feet.

"Well now," Dr. Light said to everyone else's hearing in the control booth. "It appears that she isn't quite a match for X's power. However, she is just slightly faster."

"She's still no match for Zero's speed." X noted.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, X." Zenton said from behind him. "The only reason I think is because she's still a little stiff from being in hibernation. It may not seem like it, even to her, but being in what amounts to cold storage for that long has to have an effect on your body's capability to move. After she's been up and moving around for a few days is when I'd really stake my bets on her true capabilities. And I'm fairly sure he's had to kick in the speed boost a couple times now. All you have to do is watch the air around him for a moment and you can tell. The moment he kicks in that booster the air around him does a heat haze effect."

As they talked they watched Zero and Roll get into a fierce hand-to-hand exchange. Zero came out the victor once again though, as Roll was soon thrown across the arena, only to bounce off the wall and come straight back at him. Zero brought an arm up and Roll could do nothing but watch as it morphed into a Z-Buster. Her attempts to dodge the blast mid-air forced her to take the shot in the side, quickly bringing her down to ground level.

"Well then, I'd say that's enough for now." Zero said calmly. "Much better than I expected from someone who's basically right out of the hibernation capsule." He grinned as Roll came to her feet gasping for breath and leveled a Buster at him.

"I'd say we're not done yet." She commented before letting the level three blast loose. Zero quickly pulled out his saber and deflected the shot into the ceiling. The explosion threw the room into an eerie plasma-lit brightness.

"Alright then. You wanna keep going, that's up to you. Just remember though, from here on out, whenever you wanna be done, just let me know."

"Fine by me," came Roll's reply as she once again launched herself at Zero. Zero re-socketed the saber and once more began dodging the lightning fast punches.

"_This is weird. She's already faster than X. She doesn't seem to pack quite as much of a punch as he does, but she hits a bit more often. I'm gonna have to watch myself fighting her. She's nearly my equal when it comes to speed, and that's with my systems getting the extra boost from the saber. I'm gonna hate to see what she's like when she truly awakens._" Zero thought to himself as he finally saw an opening and uppercutted the pink Reploid towards the ceiling again. Roll twisted in mid-air, firing a level two blast at the Crimson Wonder before he had an opportunity to jump and follow through on the uppercut. He dashed forward, the blast exploding just behind his feet as he went to the spot where Roll was bound to land and pulled the saber back out, igniting it nearly before it had left the socket.

Roll could only watch as she fell towards what would have been death by impalement. The saber dissipated not a moment too soon to save her from needing major repairs. As Zero caught her on the handle, he waited a moment for her to fall off the side.

"I believe that's the match."

"Indeed," Roll replied as she strained to catch her breath. "They weren't kidding when they said you're the best, were they?"

"I don't know if I'm the best, but the only ones who've been able to beat me so far are X and Sigma. And I have no intentions of ever losing to Sigma again." Zero's face was a mask of determination as he thought on the matter for a moment. "Actually, I don't think Sigma counts anyway. He's not even actually a Reploid, he's just a virus that can only thrive on Reploid systems. All he does is keep building more powerful bodies and possessing them, all in an attempt to defeat me and X."

Zero held out an oversized hand to help Roll to her feet, which she gladly accepted. As the two walked back to the control room, the others all walked out to meet them.

"That was great out there, Roll." X commented as he walked up to her.

"Yeah, that was probably the closest run for his money I've seen any one of us give Zero for quite some time now." Alia said from behind X.

"I didn't do all that good." Roll replied, somewhat embarassed at all the praise. She looked at the floor and absently started digging a trail in the floor with her boot tip.

"Actually, Roll, they're not kidding." Zero said from behind her, causing her to look up in surprise. "The only person who's managed to give me that much of a challenge is X, and the main reason he does that is because he can switch tactics and armors faster than I can move.Which gives me an idea now that I think about it. Doc was right about something though, you're basically an almost perfect match for X. You're a slight bit faster than he is, but you don't hit quite as hard as he can. That's just physical strength though. Your aim is about on par with his from when we first fought Sigma, and your instincts are nearly as good too, despite not having the experience to draw on that he does. All in all, I'm rather surprised to be honest. I expected to have you laid out on the floor within thirty seconds or less. You obviously outdid my expectations. And you're still not even really recovered from your hibernation time. Given a few days to recover from that, you should end up just as good as the rest of us."

Roll could only smile happily as Zero told her just how well she'd really done.


	23. The Straw That Broke the Reploid's Back

_The Straw That Broke the Reploid's Back_

Several months had passed since Roll's addition to the team. The Mavericks continued their usual activities, interrupted by Zero and the others on the occasions when Dr. Light had picked out a viable target for them.

Crystal watched the monitor at her station, her keyboard now slightly higher than it used to be to allow her room for her now large stomach. As she watched another explosion on the screen, the result of yet another of Zero, X, and Roll's raids, she felt a small jarring from within.

"I swear, this kid's trying to beat me up from the inside out. I keep wondering how many bruises I've got on the inside of my womb." she stated as she brought a hand to the swollen area of her midsection.

"Well, my dear, I'd say that I understand, but I don't see any way for me to do so. Though the situation is at times quite humorous to listen to you." Dr. Light replied from the main monitor. "Odd, it appears that those three have once again managed to increase their system capabilities."

"What's so odd about that? They're constantly training." Alia asked from her own station.

"What's odd about it dearie is that I didn't design them with this type of capability. I designed their systems to be capable of withstanding more abuse than other Reploids, but other than that, I never included any sort of system for this type of enhancement." Dr. Light sounded more than a little confused.

"Well," Signas stated from his own station on the other side of the room from the girls. "If I had to take a guess at it, I would say that the self healing capability that you gave them is partially to blame for it. Much as some humans do weight training that is just beyond what they're capable of, and when their muscles heal, they are stronger. I suppose it could be possible that because of the self healing ability, those three are capable of doing the same type of thing."

"I hope you're right, Signas, after all, what good am I if I can't figure out why something in a Reploid is acting wrong?" Dr. Light now sounded worried instead.

"How is it that there are still parts of Reploids that even you don't understand, Doc?" Crystal asked as the screen in front of her finally cleared again, allowing her to see that all three of the raiders were still uninjured. "So far, all three still seem to be uninjured."

"That's a question that is best answered by another I think. How is it that despite the fact that you're human, you can't figure out why all humans don't act the same?"

"Well, I'd have to say that's because not all humans are raised the same. We all grow up with different experiences and these are what help shape our lives."

"It is much the same with Reploids I'm afraid. Due to the different experiences that each of them goes through, they all end up different. X and Zero I can understand having some anomalies in their systems, due to their above average amount of time spent active. It's Roll that has me confused the most. She's only been active for less than half a year, and yet her systems display the same anomalies as those of Zero and X."

"Well, X and Roll are the only two designed solely by yourself, Dr. Light." Signas responded from his side. "As to Zero, you did rebuild him this time around as well, so perhaps there's a certain way you're going about making Reploids that causes this sort of variation in their systems."

"Perhaps that is the case." Light said.

Zero ran back to the appointed area for meeting up with the other two. X quickly ran up from another direction, Roll from another. The area around them exploded moments later. As they waited for the flames to die back down a bit they had a moment to rest.

"Well," Zero started, "It seems like they weren't expecting an attack against this installation either."

"I know what you mean," X replied.

"It's almost as if they're not even trying to keep us from performing these strikes." Roll commented.

"There's gotta be something else going on that we're not catching." X stated, his eyes shifting to watch the flames around them. "This is one of their main power centers. If they're not even watching that, then I'm not sure what they're thinking of. It's possible I suppose that the Mavericks just aren't suited for trying to hold onto their advantage, but I think that they're planning something."

"I'm with you on this one, X." Zero said, his face betraying his worry. "We're the three best that we've got. I think Toronto and Zenton have both hit their limit, Signas and Alia hit theirs as well I think. We keep getting better, and this is all becoming easy now, but you're right, there has to be something up. We've yet to see any more of the upgraded Mavericks that we dealt with a while back. That alone has me worried. I'm sure any of the three of us could handle them easily now, but we've yet to see even one more. Hell, I can't even recall seeing any of the Mavericks from the past here lately. That alone says that they're up to something. Usually Sigma just rebuilds them and sends them after us again. What's stopping him from doing it again?"

"I'm not sure either, but what makes you two so certain about all of this?" Roll asked.

"Easy," X replied. "We've been fighting Sigma for entirely too long for our own good. We've become used to just about every trick he ever uses. If he shifts from those patterns, we might actually be in for some trouble. And here lately, the pattern hasn't been repeating."

"Well, all the times before, he was attacking and trying to conquer all of humanity and take over, wasn't he? I'd say that being in charge has gotten to him, and perhaps he's not readjusted to it yet. After all, he's had control for what did you say? Something like close to a hundred years or more? And this is the first time he's had anything close to organized resistance. More than likely he's not sure how to defend himself against us." Roll tried to reason out the uncertainty of the other two.

"That's not all that has us worried, Roll. They know where the base is. We haven't moved since we began all these raids. If they were capable of detecting Dr. Light's probes, then I'm sure they're just as capable of detecting where the base is. And yet we've not had to defend it once. That worries us more than anything else. While it's possible that Dr. Light has managed to shield the base from scanning systems, it would still be entirely too easy to discover where it was just from our teleport beams and the main epicenter of our attacks."

"So basically you two are waiting to see when we get attacked?" Roll asked, her own gaze now shifting to the lessening blazes.

"Yeah, that about sums it up." Zero repied. "Alright, I think we can be fairly sure of this installation. Let's get out of here."

Three teleport beams, one red, one blue, and one pink, all shot up out of the former power complex.

As the three materialized both Alia and Crystal ran to their respective boyfriends. Alia merely stopped and waited for the three of them to detransform until she hugged X but Crystal had no such reservations. Unfortunately, her current condition prevented her from using her usual glomping method of welcoming Zero back, but it didn't stop her from at least trying to knock him off balance. Her impatience rewarded her with a very sturdy reploid embrace that didn't budge.

"You know, if you're actually trying to knock me over, you'd definitely have better luck if you'd wait until I was out of my armor, after all, my feet are kinda huge like this. They make real good supports." Zero told her in an amused tone.

"Oh shut up, you're spoiling my fun." Crystal told him.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you sometime if you bang your forehead off my chest plate." Zero replied as he stepped back from her to allow himself room to transform out of his armor. After he shifted back out he embraced her once more.

The table had already been readjusted once again to accomodate the increased number of chairs that was required now. Zero looked around and noticed a couple of empty seats.

"Where's Zen and Tor at?" He asked.

"I've got them out doing recon at a few nearby human settlements. I figure if we can get them to blend in with the populace then it will increase our chances of successfully ousting the Mavericks in their ruling over the humans." Dr. Light responded.

"That is a good possibility. Plus, the more humans know that we're on their side, the more they'll trust us when we finally manage to break them loose from the Mavericks grips." Roll put in.

"They might be more grateful Roll, but I doubt if they'll trust us any more than they already would. You have to remember that these people have had Mavericks either trying to take over or being in charge for their entire lives. There aren't very many left I'm guessing who have any memory of when the Hunters were around." X replied.

"X has a point there," Crystal spoke up. " Even my parents couldn't remember when the word Reploid was actually considered a good thing. It's just been too long. Getting them to trust us may take quite a bit of work. The fact that you can all change out of your armor will probably help though."

"Then I'd say that's what we need to be doing the most of. If we can convince the local villages to hold meetings like the village that Tor was in, we can show the village who we are, and what we're doing. Hopefully by doing that we can get their cooperation." Zero responded, getting up from his seat and moving over to Alia's communications station.

"Well now, Tor, what are we supposed to do now? We've found out that this place is locked down a lot tighter than it used to be, that's for sure. We've managed to dodge all of the patrols only to end up back at where we beamed in. We're not making much headway." Zenton was obviously just a bit stressed out all of a sudden.

"One possibility is that we could just beam back out you know." Tor rumbled back, his own agitation beginning to surface.

"That would make this entire mission pointless though. I'd hate to go back to Dr. Light and tell him we couldn't do what we were supposed to just because there were a few more patrols than we thought. Zero and X could do this in their sleep."

"Zero and X are also far above the normal limitations of Reploids."

"Alright, that's true, but still, we're not that far behind them, so this should be simple."

"I'm beginning to think that perhaps Zero was right in his original idea."

"That being?"

"Just take out the patrols in the first place. Give them the chance to surrender, and if they don't take it, take them out."

"I think your patience is just finally beginning to wear thin."

_This is Zero. Come in Tor and Zen._ The sudden comm chatter broke the brothers out of their conversation.

_This is Zenton, go ahead._

_How's things going so far?_ Zero asked, his voice slightly covered in static after the loss of part of Light's probes.

_We're gonna have to pull out. There are entirely too many patrols here. They've at least double, possibly even tripled the number of Reploids guarding this settlement since last time we checked in on it._

_Alright, prepare to be beamed out._

Zero turned to watch as the brothers rematerialized in the center of the room.

"We're gonna have to rethink our strategy." Zenton said almost before he had finished beaming in. "The number of reploids at that one town is insane. While I don't doubt if we can take them all out, I'm beginning to wonder what Sigma's really trying to protect. It can't be just the humans. He'd probably prefer to kill them all off as opposed to keeping them around."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Zenton. Sigma's always just tried to put Reploids in charge. I just don't think he particularly cared how many humans died in the process of him taking over. Other than that, I'd say he's trying to make sure that we can't start using humans to fight back against him. He may be afraid of what could happen if we could free too many of the humans near us. Afraid that the majority might start to fight back. Your average Reploid isn't really all that much stronger than a human being, unless they were designed specifically to be. You have to remember that we're all exceptions to the rule, not the norm." Zero's voice carried a small amount of worry in it, nearly unnoticed by the others. Only Crystal and X could catch the uncurrent of what he said.

"There used to be a whole lot more humans didn't there, Z?" X asked quietly.

"Yeah, there were X. What's happened to all of them? I don't remember seeing any huge massacre sites, so I don't think Sigma's killed all of them. But if he didn't kill all of them, then what has he done with them?" Zero replied, one hand under his chin as he stopped to think. "That's it, I'm finding out one way or another. X, Roll, let's go pay that village a visit. I'm talking to some humans, and I don't care how many patrols are in my way."

The three of them teleported out nearly as quickly as Zero was finished speaking.

Zero touched down first, his saber already in his hand and ignited as the first patrol came out to attack. X and Roll could only watch as Zero tore through the patrol with a ferocity that they'd only seen matched when the Crimson Reploid was in a rage. As the reserves began to filter in, the others snapped out of their daze to join the battle.

X waded in and pulled his own saber out of thin air, switching over to his Blade Armor to put it to better use, since Roll could easily cover them with her own buster fire. Roll took up her position on top of a nearby building, firing at what seemed to be random targets within the mob. As the first patrol was thinned out, the next one arrived, only to be turned on by Zero. He stopped and stared at the first line.

"You have two options. Either you get out of this town, and stay out, or I tear your patrol apart too." He pointed at the nearest Reploid with the saber for emphasis. "Which one is it going to be?"

The guard began to shake as the rest of the patrol backed off from behind him.

"We'll get out of your way." He finally managed to stammer.

"Good. Beam out of here. Now." Zero's tone left no time for argument, causing the entire patrol to beam out at once. X and the others finished disabling the first patrol just in time to see Zero walk into the town.

"Something seem a little off about Zero to anyone else?" Roll asked as she dropped to the ground next to X.

"Something? Yes. What? I don't have a damned clue." X replied, somewhat shaken at his friend's sudden change. "It's like he's just barely staying out of a berserker rage."

"Where are they?" Zero muttered to himself as he blazed a trail through to the middle of the town. People jumped off to the sides as he passed. "They have to be here somewhere, so _where are they?_" One person finally didn't manage to jump far enough out of Zero's path to avoid being noticed.

"Where are the rest of the people?" Zero turned and glared at the man, not even bothering to move far enough to grab the frightened civilian.

"I've no clue what you're asking about. Besides, you Reploids took them, you should know better than we would."

"In case you missed the details, pal, me and my friends just took out one of the Reploid patrols. That would suggest just possibly that I'm not on their side, wouldn't it? Now, once again, where were they taken?"

"We don't have a damned clue, alright! The only thing we know is that occasionally they come through and weed out the population about once every three years or so. Between that and Sigma's 'migrations' we almost never get to keep track of everyone." The man seemed more indignant now than frightened.

"Thank you. That's just the type of information I was looking for." Zero said as he turned around to walk back through the path he'd cleared on his way in. The people now stayed near the edge of that path, somehow sensing that the the angel of death had moved on for this day.

As X and the others neared him, Zero stopped moving. He waited until they were closer to him before he spoke.

"The humans here don't know where Sigma's taken the others. Apparently the Reploids come through every three years or so in these larger towns and 'weed out' the population, or at least that's what I was told. I'm guessing they take them somewhere else for some twisted reason of Sigma's. Hell only knows what he'd do to humans, we know he doesn't care for them."

"Wait a minute, he just goes through the population at random?" Roll queried.

"Seems that way. The guy didn't say anything about them taking the strongest or anything, so I would guess they just take them at random." Zero replied.

"You don't think he's somehow using the humans to generate power at a hidden electric station or something do you?" X jumped in. "I mean, there was nothing really protecting that last power station we took out. It's like he has no reason to bother guarding them. If he's somehow using the humans to power something then it would explain his lack of protection at the normal power stations. Which would mean-"

"Which would mean the only people we're doing any harm to by taking out those power stations is the humans. Damnit to hell!" Zero suddenly slammed his fist into a nearby building, leaving a dent several inches in the concrete and metal structure. "Alright, fine, let's get out of here. We're gonna have to have Dr. Light do some scans to find possible power plant structures and I think it's about time we finally got a lock on Sigma's base. I'm tired of all of this."

The other two nodded just before they all teleported back out.


	24. Unwelcome Homecoming

_Unwelcome Homecoming_

As Zero teleported in with the others, his battle senses immediately picked up that something was wrong. The others all felt it too.

"What's wrong here?" Roll asked out loud.

"It's too quiet, something seems out of place, and it's entirely too dark. Light does usually keep the lights down, but not _this _low." X replied. "Wait a minute. Where's Light at? He's usually given us some type of welcome by this time. This can't be good." X looked over at Zero as a snarl came from his friend's lips, and was taken aback by the sheer amount of red that seemed to be sliding behind the solid blues of Zero's eyes. "_This can't be good. Last time I saw a look like that was when it was the original Zero, just after he'd lost Iris._"

"To hell with Light," Zero said abruptly. "Where is Crystal?" The room was suddenly lit very brightly by the glow of the Z-saber. The room was a wreck. The monitors were still intact somehow, but nearly everything else that hadn't been retracted or bolted down was destroyed. Roll gasped audibly while X and Zero both merely drew very deep breaths. Zero used a mental command to slide his visor down, something he'd nearly forgotten about since he'd been fighting nothing but past foes lately. He set it to scan for traces of blood. The scan came up negative. As he switched it to scan for Reploid traces he noticed Zenton over in the corner.

The converted human definitely looked a little worse for wear. Zero could see several of the pieces of his armor were broken, and some cuts and burns even went down to his real body.

"Zen, what happened here?" Zero asked as he kneeled in front of his friend.

"Heh...I guess you could say that we got our asses kicked." Zenton replied somewhat shakily. Gimme just a second." Zenton stood and walked over to a wall, and slammed his fist into a spot. The wall itself slid away to reveal Alia huddled back into a small corner, crying slowly. X rushed into get a hold of her.

"Alright, there's Alia, what happened to Signas, Tor, and Crystal? And why the hell is Light offline?" Zero asked.

"Tor and Signas, I'm fairly sure are dead. I'll have to go check the entrance, but that's where they were headed, and since the Mavericks came in here not too shortly after that, I can only assume the worst. They took Crys though.I don't know why, but for some reason, they just grabbed her and teleported out. I'm still not sure why Light's offline, I remember him and Crystal arguing about something right before he suddenly went offline."

"Alright. Crystal's fine, or at least she was before she left this room. Since I can be sure of that, and with that in mind, let's see if we can find out how to get Light back online. Why don't you go see what happened to Tor and Signas, Zen? You might want to see if maybe some of your magic can heal up some of that damage too, until we can get Light back online." Zero's eyes seemed to calm down a bit.X watched and though he couldn't find the red sliding around like he usually could, Zero's eyes seemed to somehow have turned more of a purple. Zenton had walked out the doorway, still slowed down, but able to move.

"_Is the rage gone that quickly? It can't be. Or did he just somehow focus it? I've never seen any Reploid's eyes do that. I know that our eyes do shift colors to match our moods, but for some reason his just scare me when he starts doing this._" X thought to himself as he continued to help look for a hidden switch or something to bring Light back up. "Alia, there weren't any hidden areas in the base containing the doc's back-up files or anything were there?"

"No, X. Light's system is built into the very walls of the complex. That's part of the reason why he can be anywhere in the building. I'm just trying to remember if I saw any sort of power switch in any of the diagrams. So far, I'm not coming up with anything." Alia replied, searching near her own station for anything.

As they all continued looking, suddenly the lights and everything finally kicked on.

"Alright, who touched what?" Zenton burst out, as he walked back in.

"Unfortunately, Zenton, the Mavericks touched a good deal more than I would have preferred." Suddenly Dr. Light's voice rang once more from the walls. "They overwhelmed my perimeter defenses and destroyed every auto-cannon I could get aimed at them."

"Why didn't you see it coming, Doc?" Zero asked. "And what the hell was up with the power outage?"

"You can thank Crystal for that. I was reluctant to use the timed restart myself, but she thought it would be for the best. We really didn't have any more options."

"What about the field you used against X when he first came here after I first went out?"

"It didn't work for some reason. Sigma must've been logging X's systems when he came here that first time. That's the only thing I can think of. I'd been using it the entire time they were coming through the halls, but it wasn't even slowing them down. When we realized that, Crystal started putting in the commands for the timed restart and wouldn't even budge on that decision. So unfortunately, I have no clue as to what they've done or where they've taken her." Light spoke as his face slowly reappeared on the main monitor, the other stations booting back up as well.

"Actually, Doc, I hate to break it to you, but we do have a way to keep track of where they've taken her." Alia broke in, quickly taking her seat at her station. "I put a subdermal chip in her when I gave her that shot to put her to sleep when Zero was fighting in the inferno. It's tuned to the old radio frequencies, so it'll be harder for the Mavericks to even notice it being there, and we should still be able to use the satellite systems to pick up on it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to program it with enough proficiency to do more than track it."

"That's perfectly alright, Alia," Zero said, coming up behind her. "All I need is a location. Beyond that, I could care less, because the moment I get to her, if she's not unharmed, then someone else will bleed for whatever they've done." Zero's eyes were now a much more vibrant purple than what X had noted previously.

"_Heaven help any Maverick to get in his way. His emotions are under such close control that they almost don't exist._" X thought to himself as he watched Light's monitor for the position of Crystal's locator.

It took the satellite system several hours of searching to finally pick up the faint signal.

"Well this isn't good," Alia muttered to herself as she finally pinpointed it. "It should've been much stronger than that."

"You have to count in for the fact that they've probably taken her inside their base, Alia." X commented from just behind her. "Depending on how big Sigma's base is this time, there could be a lot of walls in the way. I know there've always been plenty before, and his bases were actually pretty small. Now that he's managed to attain his 'rule' over the humans, I'm guessing that his ego has probably gotten the better of him."

"Just get me a lock onto a position with a few miles of it, and then get me beamed out of here." Zero interrupted from behind them. "I don't care how many walls he has in my way."

"There it is, setting you down one and a half miles away from the signal." Alia commented just before Zero turned into a beam.

"You don't think anything will happen to him, do you?" Roll asked, having come up to where Zero had just been standing.

"Something already did, Roll." X replied. "They took Crystal from him. And I don't even think the gates of Hell itself are going to stop him from getting her back. For a short while there, his eyes were just like the original Zero's. Solid blue, but if you watched, you could see streaks of red that seemed to slide behind the blue. Then they changed. Zero used to be a package of rage kept under very loose control. If he wasn't a Hunter, he would've been a Maverick more than likely. That same look was always in his eyes. But it's almost as if this time, he somehow focused that rage, his eyes this time, they didn't have the red sliding around. It's as if he somehow just absorbed it, or focused it on whatever he's thinking of. Usually when a Maverick gets that mad, their eyes go solid red. But his didn't. They went to more of a purple. To be honest, that scares me just a bit."

"So you think he'll be okay?" Alia asked from her seat.

"No, I don't. Zero's probably going to kill anyone that gets between him and Crystal, but I've got a really bad feeling about this. Roll and I are going to go in after him. Set us down at the same place you set him down at, we'll follow him in, keep him from being attacked from behind, I hope. Zenton, while we're gone, you might want to go get Toronto and Signas, bring them back in here, or at least whatever's left of them, have Light start working on rebuilding them." X's face became deadly serious just before him and Roll beamed out.

"You can do that?" Zenton muttered.

"Yes, I can, Zenton. I've rebuilt both Zero and X several times. They'll be severely disoriented, but they can be brought back online. It's another advantage that Reploids have over humans." Light replied as the injured Reploid began to walk for the door.

"Alright, then, I guess I'll go drag what's left of them back in here."

Author's Notes:

Sorry for not getting back to everyone a bit sooner. Been a bit busy lately.

To those of you thinking Matrix, I hadn't realized that I'd made it sound like that before...woops! XD Though I do see where you all got that now that it's been pointed out. . But ehh, no human batteries here.

MHP, Dragon Man, sorry, but I won't be bringing Proto into this per se. I have a bit of an idea how to work him in, but it involves altering/piecing together bits of Mega Man history. Or more specifically non-history. Damn Capcom for creating the huge plot hole between the Mega Man and X series. Does much yelling and griping

D&SM: I've yet to see anything to point out to me that Mega and X are two completely seperate robots. Until I do, I'm gonna hold to my opinion that X is Mega rebuilt.

Thanks for the reviews and compliments, hope you all end up enjoying where this story is headed.


	25. The Demon's Arrival

_The Demon's Arrival_

Sigma looked down at his latest catch. He'd had a feeling that this girl meant something to the latest incarnation of Zero, though he wasn't completely sure just what. The encounter on the train had shown him that much. Once his tracking systems had finally been able to lock onto the renegade Reploids he'd taken very careful steps to make sure that he'd struck when as many of them as possible were out of the base, though he hadn't counted on losing quite so many soldiers to those damned auto-cannons. He turned to look at the helpless human girl as she struggled once again against the chains that held her to the wall. He still wasn't sure though what had happened to the girl to make her midsection seem so big. He'd remembered her being a great deal skinnier before.

"You do realize that all of your struggling is in vain, don't you?" Sigma asked her as he kneeled, bringing his face down to only about a foot above her's. "Those chains were measured out to hold you before your body changed, but the fact that you're minus one chain isn't going to help the fact that they're meant to hold you, no matter what."

"_Apparently no one ever taught Sigma what the word pregnant means._" Crystal thought as she glared defiantly back at the head of the Mavericks. "You're going to regret this when Zero gets here and tears you apart."

"My dear, I sincerely hope he does come, that was the whole point in kidnapping you instead of just killing you outright. I can finally get him right where I want him. Here, in my base, at my own time. He'll have an army of Reploid Masters to fight, and if he can make it through them in one piece, he'll still have to deal with me. And if I die, this base explodes. Simple as that. Either way, I win. After all, I've had my fun ruling over the humans, and to be honest, it just hasn't been as much fun as I'd thought it would be. Given the way things are going right now, I'd probably end up killing the whole lot of you within the next few years. After all, there's really nothing that you humans can do that us Reploids can't do." Sigma grinned as the thoughts of the slaughter rolled through his mind.

"You're wrong Sigma, but then, what we humans have that you don't are things that you'll never understand." Crystal snapped back at him. She cringed as she felt an odd pain through her midsection. "_This is bad. I hope that feeling isn't what I think it is._" She thought to herself as Sigma looked over his shoulder at an approaching Reploid.

"You might like to know, sir, the renegade Zero has beamed down into the landscape a short distance from here and will be arriving shortly." The Reploid bowed slightly as he gave his report.

"Good, let's make sure the welcoming wagon is firmly waiting for his arrival." Sigma extended himself back to his full height and walked out of the room, only to return minutes later and take his seat on his throne.

Zero touched down in a small clearing and had only to look up to see Sigma's fortress. He waited only a small moment before he leaned forward and kicked in his boosters, bringing him to the main gate within seconds. He slowed down only a fraction of a second as he released a level 5 blast from his Z-cannons. The door was blown apart, destroying the few guards that had been positioned behind it, Zero sailing through the opening before the explosions were cleared. As he touched down, he looked around to see copies of nearly every Maverick that he and X had fought beginning to surround him. He looked straight ahead.

"I'm only going to give all of you one chance to surrender. If I don't get Crystal back within a minute, I'll tear not only this base apart, but every last one of you as well." He closed his purple eyes for a moment as he heard laughter begin to spread through the ring around him. When he reopened them, no sign of the blue that his girlfriend was so fond of could be seen, the red seeming almost to glow as he finally found an outlet for his rage. "Very well then, prepare to be decimated!" Zero's voice rang out, silencing the crowd before the Z-saber was once again reignited, the point burning the surrounding ground to ashes. Zero brought his left fist up just as the ring began to move in towards him.

"RAKUHOUHA!" Zero slammed his fist into the ground, pouring the entirety of the attack's energy into it instead of the portions of it like he had done before. An attack that should've only hurt the Mavericks surrounding him now engulfed the courtyard in a fireball. Zero merely stayed crouched where he was, since very few of the Mavericks seemed intent on getting back up, let alone putting up a fight. As Zero slowly stood back up and prepared to deal with the few survivors he was instead treated to watching them all get blasted with plasma fire. Roll and X continued with the short barrage from their positions up on top of the remaining supports from where the main gate had been. Both leaped down and walked up to where Zero remained standing still. As X looked the air around Zero seemed to crackle.

"Don't come too close." Zero warned. "There's apparently another hidden power that's been hidden in this suit. It's above my previous levels, and yet it's still not close to overloading the suit. It's as if it's somehow rerouted the energy to make it more adaptable. But it's still releasing it into the air around me. I'm not sure how well it would react with your own systems."

"What's the plan?" Roll asked as she and X stopped.

"The plan is to blow straight through this place and find Crystal. Then, once I've got her safe, I'm taking out Sigma, and I'm not leaving anything standing of this place. If there's nowhere left for Sigma to transfer to, then we can finally be rid of him." Zero stated as he looked up at the two.

"I wouldn't count on that, Z," X replied. "Remember, we've tried that route before, and it's yet to work. I'm resigned to the fact that we're probably always going to be fighting him, it's just a matter of how long we can get him to stay away."

"Fine, but I'm still blowing the hell out of everything in this base that I can get a hold of." Zero stated as he turned around and headed for the nearest wall that would lead to the center of the base. Roll and X could only follow.

Sigma watched a small screen set into the arm of his throne as the courtyard exploded, knocking his camera offline.

"Well then, it would seem that he's once again raised his power level. He continues to amaze me with that capability. But it doesn't matter. He'll soon fall beneath my powers."

Crystal could only listen and grin before another pain forced her to grit her teeth.

The outer wall exploded, surprising every Reploid that had been near it. Zero dashed through before the smoke could clear out, slashing anything that moved in his way. Pieces of Mavericks flew in various directions as the red and gold blur moved from one to another. Walls were blown in as the possessed Hunter swept through rooms. A small section of catwalks proved to be no problem as Zero merely leaped up and kicked in the flight boosters that had been so neglected through his ground based fights. Roll and X were forced to take the catwalks and deal with the guards stationed there, slowing them down and putting them behind their leader.

"Damnit!" X shouted as he watched Zero blow through another wall and out his and Roll's sight. "This isn't good at all. He's completely out of control."

"There's not much we can do about that until we can find Crystal, so I'd say it's in our best interests to just follow him for right now." Roll replied as the two of them finally cleared the catwalks and jumped through the hole that Zero had left. They looked forward to see a whole line of holes.

"Well, I'd guess that Sigma set all that up as a way to keep us trapped for a while, but then, I'm sure he wasn't counting on Zero ignoring all the walls either." X replied as they began to hop over the small obstructions that were left in the debris trail.

"I know I sure as hell wasn't counting on him being like this. It's like he's a demon instead of a Reploid now." Roll replied.

Sigma watched as the wall opposite him was blown through by the enraged Class S Hunter. He stood from where he was and walked down the short set of stairs leading up to his throne. His typical green saber still hung lifeless by a clip at his side, a matching one on his opposite hip. He had reverted to a body identical to his original green armored setup. As Zero skidded to a stop, Sigma took the momentary diversion to try and assess just how much more powerful Zero had become. His scanners were unable to return him an answer, once more leaving him clueless as to what drove the persistent Hunter.

Zero stopped for a moment to check this room. His internal systems told him that this is where Crystal's signal was coming from. He looked and saw her chained to the wall, the chains all tightly holding her to the wall.

"Zero!" Crystal shouted out as she finally managed to look up at him. The pains were becoming much more frequent and much stronger. The moment she yelled at Zero she was forced to grit her teeth once again. This was did not pass unnoticed by the Crimson Hunter.

"You're going to pay for ever hurting her Sigma." Zero said calmly as he looked over at the head of the Mavericks. His grip on the Z-saber tightened. Before even he himself knew what was going on the Z-saber began to transform, the blade color changing to red, the energy solidifying to a curved solid form, making it more of a katana type of energy blade. Energy seemed to crackle over the surface of his armor, making the air around him heat up rapidly. The mane of his hair floated in the air behind him.

Sigma took in all of this and merely reached down for his sabers. The dual sabers both ignited neon green.

Roll and X both jumped through the wall to watch as the transformed Zero and Sigma both leapt at each other. Roll looked over to spot Crystal.

"We've gotta get her out of here." Roll said as she and X both took off for the human.

Zero dodged the first flurry of strikes from Sigma's sabers and kicked Sigma into the opposite wall. He looked over to see X and Roll quickly undoing the chains that held Crystal in place.

"Get her out of here now!" He yelled at the two of them. "And get yourselves out as well. I'll take care of Sigma."

"Are you sure you can take him, Z?" X asked before he moved.

"I'll take care of Sigma, one way or another, X, now get out of here. You carry Crystal, have Roll cover you, she can take out targets faster than you can, and you can carry Crystal easier. Get as far away from here as possible just in case Light can't get a lock on you in time to get you out of here before the explosion."

"Alright, we'll do it your way, but you better come back out of this. You've got a child on the way."

"Don't worry about me." Zero said before he turned back to see Sigma already rushing back into the attack. He ducked under one blade, using the transformed Z-saber to block the other one. He watched for every weakness he could find in Sigma's newest body, all the while dodging the dual sabers, blocking where he couldn't dodge.

Sigma found himself just as frustrated at this incarnation of Zero as he had been with the original. It seemed the longer the Hunter lived, the more he continued to increase his abilities. Sigma knew that this shouldn't have been possible. He also knew that X was the same way. Both were a mystery to him. Even when he had managed to turn either one Maverick, he'd still been unable to raise their power levels beyond what they were originally. And yet somehow, every time one of them turned back to themselves, their power levels would once again become unreadable. What was it about these two ancient Reploids that was able to defy modern technology? Was there something about their design that was unreadable? Something that just wouldn't show up on a scanner? What made them able to just keep getting stronger? X always seemed to change from one armor set to another, but Zero never did. And yet both of them continued to defy logic.

Zero continued to merely dodge and block all of Sigma's strikes, content just to hold the Maverick at bay for now. His sensors would tell him when X and Roll were clear of the building. It was merely a matter of time until he could retaliate.

X ran as fast as he could possibly manage, Roll staying a step behind him as they ran back towards the main gate.

"_Doc, Alia, we need teleported now!_" X threw his thoughts into the comm system.

"_You'll have to get clear of the building first, X. We can't lock onto your signals while you're still within the boundaries of the structure._" Alia responded as Roll quickly took out another group of minor Mavericks.

"Get ready, X! Don't need you to drop her when we get back to the base." Roll commented as they got into the clearing for the main yard. She was forced to move to the side as X skidded to a stop in front of her. "What in the - oh hell."

In front of them stood Vile and the X-hunters once again.

"Roll, take Crystal.I think it's about time I obliterated these idiots for good." He handed the redhead over to Roll, switching over to his Ultimate Armor. "Now get her out of here. Zero wouldn't forgive us if we didn't get her back to base safe."

"I'm on it." Roll took off running to the side of the field.

"I don't hardly think so, girlie." Agile said, pulling out his saber. He rushed over to block Roll's path, but found his own quickly blocked by a suddenly glowing X.

"And I hardly think so either, Agile. She's free to go. Your problem is with me. Now let's see if you've managed to improve any. Again."

"I'm not called an X-hunter for nothing. We've studied every battle of yours, including the ones that have resulted in our defeat. Don't even think that we'll allow it to happen again." Agile said, pulling back a bit closer to Violen and Serges.

"You couldn't have learned anything from our last fight, Agile. All three of you lined up for me to use one attack to blow right through you. Which means you didn't even get the chance to see how much power I've truly gained." X brought an arm up in front of him, the hand quickly transforming to a buster. "I've had enough of Reploids like you. All you do is complicate the simple things in life that those like myself live to enjoy. I'm tired of it."

"Enough talk, time to die, X!" Agile yelled as the X-hunters moved in.

"Why don't you fight back, you worthless hunk of scrap?" Sigma yelled as Zero continued to dodge and block his attacks.

"I'm guessing it never occured to you that I'm not too overly concerned about fighting back just yet? So far, all you've managed to do is expose every weakness in your latest body. Not that I can say that I'm particularly surprised, you never really were much of a fighter, otherwise you wouldn't need all those other forms to fall back on. All you've ever had to go on is your damned virus, and that's it. If either of us is truly a waste of metal, then it's you." Zero jumped back for just a moment to see what kind of effect his words would have. If Sigma held true to form, he'd more than likely get cockier, and sloppier in his fighting.

"I see. Then I guess perhaps I should've used full power from the start if that's they way you look at it." Sigma stood up for a moment and closed his eys. The air seemed to shimmer around him for a moment before he opened his eyes again. "Much better. I haven't been at full power since you and X were taken out."

"Don't worry too much, you won't have to deal with the strain of maintaining that level for long." Zero's hair still floated in the air behind him, his power level still causing the air around him to crackle with energy. "Where are the rest of the humans? You have them running treadmills or something to keep your base powered?"

"Of course not. What kind of barbarian do you take me for? I killed many of them with my own hands within a few years after you were killed. One nuclear bomb in the atmosphere to cause an electro-magnetic pulse, wiping out all the computers in the area that weren't shielded, not to mention most cameras and sensors, then mass murder. No mess to clean up after all the plasma fire, and ten years or so worth of weather got rid of the scorches from the plasma. Most of the humans that were still alive back then are dead now. Those that aren't, will be soon. The occasional sweep through kidnapping and murdering a few more keeps the rest in line. Simplifies my problems immensely I'd say."

"I'd say that it just adds to what you'll pay for when the time comes. And I think that time is very soon."

"You're right, one way or another." Sigma moved his sabers up to a ready position.

"What do you mean?" Zero asked as he brought his own saber up.

"Simply put, this base is going to hell no matter the outcome of this fight. If you kill me, the base explodes. If I manage to kill you, I'm probably going to destroy it anyway. I've gotten very bored being in charge. Without an oppenent like yourself to challenge me, I've sat in the same spot for years at a time, waiting for something that requires more attention than just giving orders. I lust for combat, much the same as you do. Your reappearance reawakened that spark. We're very much alike in that aspect." Sigma quickly sliced a saber towards Zero,

"I may like to fight, but I see no need for the senseless violence and death that you yearn for, Sigma." Zero replied, bringing his own saber up to block the green blur. As Sigma's other saber began to descend, Zero brought his free hand up, the energy crackling in the air around him solidifying in a beam around his forearm, prevent the blade from getting through to him.

Sigma jumped back once more, the energy returning to it's erratic path of interference in the air around Zero.

"I don't know what it is about you and X, but I will find out one of these days. I don't care if I have to turn you into shreds of molecular material to do so." Sigma ground out from between his teeth.

"By all means," Zero stated, "If you think you can do so, please, try."

Author's Notes: Getting near the end I think...never thought I'd see myself saying that. O.o I do plan to eventually re-write this, going back and adding more of a surroundings to the story and what not. I always feel like I'm missing stuff after I go back and look at a chapter, but I'm determined to finish it out, and quite possibly work on the sequel. Yes, I do have a good idea of how I'm going to end it, and yes, I do have intentions to continue the story. I just have to figure out exactly how to end it, and then, where to start from there, lol. This should be interesting.

Oh, and forgive me if something doesn't seem to fit in with pieces of Mega Man history that you're aware of, the cartoons and the games never really did seem to fit together too well other than having the same characters. I go by the games, and the history that they present (what little bit that they do) so I draw my own conclusions for a lot of things.


	26. The Final Hurrah

Ch.26 The Final Hurrah

Zero stood as the energy continued to flow around him, waiting for Sigma to move again.

"I think something has you scared Sigma. Is there a pattern in the energy that you don't like? Or perhaps that even my energy alone is enough to fight back against you scares you straight down to your very code. It doesn't matter, you'll be dead in the end." Zero smirked, knowing it would only infuriate the Maverick tyrant. Sigma stood in a battle-ready stance, his face marred by conflicting emotions of confusion and anger. Zero continually checked his sensors, waiting for Alia and X's signals to disappear.

X dodged constantly as all three X-hunters came at him with a renewed passion, their latest incarnations the same as they had always been, with no change apparent to even their power levels. As X flipped backwards out of their attacks, he stopped and carefully aimed a blast at Agile, letting it go before he had even touched the ground.

Agile screamed as the plasma bolt struck his hand, the mass of charred metal left in it's place hardly recognizable, his beam saber dropping to the ground, the blade remaining powered.

"_Interesting,_" thought X as he noticed it. "_Apparently theirs aren't command controlled like ours are through the wireless weapons connection systems in our hands._"

Roll forced herself to run as X blocked Agile's path to get to her. Once clear of the fortress walls she quickly brought her communications back up.

"Get me and Crystal out of here _now_ Alia. She's going into labor!" Roll yelled as she stopped running and set Crystal down for a moment to check her. Sweat lightly beaded the girl's forehead as she groaned with each wave of pain. Roll hadn't had any real medical background, but even she knew that Crystal didn't have long to wait. She sighed as she felt the first tingles of the transporter beam effect before a two beams flew back up through the wilderness.

Zero grinned as he heard the communications line open up again. Sigma's expression quickly changed once more to rage.

"_Zero, this is Alia, we've got Roll and Crystal. Now take Sigma out. And please, come back safe, for Crystal and your child's sake._" Alia's voice seemed ready to break.

"_No worries about me Alia. I always come back. Maybe not in one piece, but I will be back._" Zero's grin grew wider and more vicious as he heard the communications line close again. As he finally allowed himself to fully concentrate on the fight, the fury of the energy around him intensified, becoming visible more often than it already was, his hair floating and waving wildly in the air behind him. "I'll never fall to the likes of you ever again Sigma. I promised someone I'd be here for her no matter what, and I'll be damned before _anyone_ stops me from fulfilling that promise." Sigma smirked.

"Touching speech, but words are merely words." Sigma launched himself at Zero, slashing quickly with both sabers in an cross attack centered on Zero's head. His attempt was met only with Zero's blade, blocking both sabers as Zero's fist flew under Sigma's attack, his punch impacting with a small explosion as the energy around him coalesced once more with his movements, traveling down his arm into the front of his fist moments before the strike connected, bursting with massive force. Sigma flew backwards and landed on his feet, skidding for several meters.

X continued to dodge as Serges and Violen attempted to corner him. As Violen's oversized mace swung at him, X switched armors just before it struck where he stood. Violen grinned, an entirely unpleasing sight on his wide face, before sliding into shock as he realized that his mace hadn't made a crater. As the dust cleared from the impact, he realized that his mace hadn't impacted at all. X had merely used the Gaea Armor to block it, before switching back to his Ultimate Armor drop it and grab the chain, pulling it from Violen's grasp and snapping the connection to his arm.

"You're powerless without your weapon, and you know it Violen. Just give up now. Neither you nor Agile is even a challenge now that you're both completely disarmed." X commented as he kept an eye on all three, knowing Serges was vulnerable to attack the moment he even left his platform. Tho he had disarmed them, he knew the other two weren't quite as harmless as he'd made it sound, but was hoping that they themselves weren't quite as knowledable.

Roll quickly picked Crystal up as the beam set them down.

"Where to with her Doc?" She yelled, starting to panic slightly as Crystal cried out in pain.

"The infirmary, where else?" Light replied as he quickly showed a map on his screen, highlighting the appropriate room. "Alia's already there and preparing for your arrival. And do try to slow down a little bit. Jarring her around by running like a madman won't help any, nor will it really speed things up at all."

Roll didn't bother replying as she turned around and quickly ran down the hall, though not quite at her former pace. As she neared the training room she turned down another hall that she was fairly sure none of them had bothered to explore before. At least she herself hadn't been in there yet. One door was already open as she neared it, and she instinctively ducked in. Alia turned from where she was preparing a bed for Crystal and waved Roll over. As she set the pained girl down on the bed, she watched as Alia quickly started running small tests on her.

Sigma's rushes were becoming less and less frequent as Zero continually blocked and countered each of them. Any spot left open quickly became a target for Zero as he punched, kicked, and slashed away at every strike Sigma made. Sigma started twirling both sabers rapidly hand over hand as he rushed again, the blurs becoming a nearly solid beam as he got closer to Zero. Zero merely stood as he was and suddenly brought his blade up from below, striking at Sigma's hands in the center of the blurs, causing both to tumble away as Sigma jumped back, both hands sliced open and quickly beginning to ooze mechanical fluids. As Zero stopped and stood where he was, he noticed as Sigma's hands began to quickly repair themselves.

"So you finally broke down and overworked your self-healing system, knowing that was all that would keep you in one piece, eh?" Zero asked as he stood, his grin growing even more vicious, the red in his eyes seeming almost to glow. "How does it feel to be completely outclassed Sigma? To know that every movement you've made has been countered and blocked."

"You've hardly seen everything I have in store, you pest of a Reploid." Sigma snarled as he dashed back in, attempting to strike at Zero with normal blades that had come down out of his forearms. Zero didn't even bother to move himself, instead bending the energy around him to knock Sigma across the room. Sigma stood and picked up one of his inactive sabers as he did so, igniting the green blade again. As he swung again and again, Zero dodged his strikes, finally blocking one last slash before repeating the actions he had when Sigma rushed him before, the punch sending Sigma through the other wall instead of merely near it.

X picked up the chain attached to Violen's mace and swung it, tripping Serges off his platform before snapping the chain taut and beginning to swing the mace end as well, swinging it over his head and crushing the platform before Serges could regain it.

"Now all three of you are virtually defenseless. Surrender or perish." X's features were unusually cold as he sounded out his ultimatum.

"We'll never surrender to the likes of you!" Agile spat out.

"You may have been the original, but that just makes you the prototype," Serges cried out from his position near Agile. Violen merely nodded dumbly behind the two of them. X closed his eyes for a moment before opening them. They shone red, something none of the X-hunters had ever seen before from the Blue Bomber.

"You take lives for the fun of it. You destroy people's chances at happiness, and pass it off as building your damned utopia. How many more must die before people like you learn? How many more of your type must I destroy before there's an end to all of it?" X asked as he idly let the power build in the X-busters. "I've had enough of it. I'm tired of you destroying the peace that I keep fighting for. I'm not leaving enough of you to make even a remote chance at rebuilding. This is the end for the three of you, and if you ever come back again, so help me, I'll destroy that copy too."

As X brought his cannons up, he surpassed the limits Light had set before, his rage breaking through even Light's programming as he called up more power. As the energy began to run over his body the X-buster changed slightly, it's form bringing out more fins and cooling surfaces as he continued to charge it's power, before releasing it finally.

Alia couldn't help but grit her own teeth as she watched Crystal's efforts. The redhead screamed as her body tensed with the effort of labor. Roll could do nothing but stand and watch in awe, having read up on the process, but still nowhere near Alia's knowledge.

"Come on Crys, push just a bit more," Alia commented, hoping to try and soothe the girl's pain somehow. Dr. Light hadn't had the proper ingredients to make a proper medication for the process, nor had he been able to come up with an appropriate synthetic replacement.

Crystal gritted her teeth, feeling each movement of the child inside her as it moved closer to the outside world. Each contraction she pushed, and with each one that hit that she wasn't prepared for, she screamed for a moment before stopping herself again.

"_Please Seero, don't make me go through all this just to raise our child on my own,_" She thought just before another contraction made her scream again.

Zero rushed forward as the dust settled from the wall's collapse, quickly leaping over it before Sigma had the chance to recover, stabbing his saber downwards through the green chestplate and pulling it back out as he rebounded off the injured Maverick and landed a short distance away. He could only watch as Sigma stood back up and began to heal even from a wound that was mortal to even most Reploids. The tyrant's face twisted into a sneer as he healed and stood fully again.

"Even you can't defeat me now. No wound is too great for my latest body to handle." Sigma began to laugh even before his words had died in the air. Zero treated his laughing to a quick stab through his throat, ending it even as he started. Sigma merely stumbled back a moment and waited for the healing process to take over as it did.

"I don't care how fast you can heal. Without your saber, you're barely even worth the time. However, you've made a few mistakes over these last few months." Zero moved forward within striking distance of Sigma.

"You've allowed me the chance to revive again." Zero commented coldly as he slashed and took off part of Sigma's arm.

"You've allowed me to rebuild the exact team that took you down before." Zero slashed at Sigma's other arm, taking off more of it.

"You've allowed me to become even stronger than I was before!" Zero threw more emphasis into his words as he slashed off a leg at the knee, making sure to kick it over before stopping in front of Sigma, watching as his arms began to rebuild slowly. His visor slid down and quickly began to trace the patterns of Sigma's circuitry.

"But most of all, you've threatened my way of life." The Z-saber could be heard swinging as it went through a shoulder section.

"You've killed two of my friends." The sound of the other shoulder hitting the floor was heard in the odd quietness of the base.

"And you've kidnapped, threatened, and hurt the one woman I love in this world. In doing that, you sealed your fate." Zero brought both arms back as the visor finally pinpointed the main center of the network of nanomachines that kept rebuilding Sigma. As he swung forward the energy that had been content to sit around him centered and combined with the Z-saber, the blade becoming a beam of white energy as it slid down through the main portion of Sigma's body at an angle, severing all workings of his healing process. As Zero socketed the saber finally, his armor began to turn a dark black, the extra energy from before flowing just beneath the surface in an odd pattern.

"You're doomed fool," Sigma said as his body slid in half. "You'll never make it out of here before this base explodes."

"I don't need to listen to the prattlings of an old Mechaniloid who can't even function properly. Rest with the ashes of this place as you should." Zero said as he turned and began to quickly dash back through the hole in the walls that he had created, jumping up and flying after a couple jumps, teleporting himself forward in small bursts as the base began to rumble.

The battlefield exploded around X as the X-Buster fired, the courtyard in front of him lit in an eerie light as it was singed and burnt within that space, destroying anything inside the blast. X could only stand as the X-Buster quickly began to cool off, before reverting back to it's normal form. His eyes reverted back to normal, tho his cold expression warmed only slightly as the blast area cooled.

"I originally wanted to end this conflict peacefully. But I guess you just couldn't have had it end like that, could you have? It was too much apparently to ask you to be tolerant of the humans. And any utopia cannot be based on such single-minded beliefs." X said as he stood for a moment. The base began to rumble and he quickly teleported out.

"You're almost there Crystal, I can see the head, just a little more!" Alia said excitedly as Crystal's face betrayed the immense effort she had to put into the pushes now. Roll still stood in a daze as she watched, amazed at how much the human girl could withstand just to bring a new life into the world. She'd never witnessed this at all just helping Mega Man and Dr. Light before.

"_Some day this might be me,_" She thought, a hand idly moving to her lower stomach as she continued to watch.

Crystal let out another scream as she gave one final push, a baby's wail breaking the pattern of screams from it's mother as it breathed it's first breath of air. Crystal fell back against the bed, exhausted, but with a smile on her face.

Zero stopped as the air around him quickly began to heat up.

"_It's all coming down and exploding at the same time. He must've set up a chain of explosions._" He leaned forward and quickly boosted his speed even past what it had been when he'd fought Overdrive, even the blur he normally left fading into an after-image as he passed. As he passed into the burnt courtyard he could barely take note of it's altered appearance as the base began to explode behind him

"Alia, Doc, get me the hell out of here!" He yelled into the communications as he passed just outside the walls and continued moving before turning into a beam and moving even faster. The former headquarters of the Mavericks began to quickly crumble and burn.

My apologies to my readers in waiting for this chapter. I eh, kinda got a bit sidetracked with my life, and as such this story was put on a bit of a backburner to other things. All I've got to do now is write up the actual ending, and this part of it at least be finished.


	27. Hollow Victory

Ch. 27 Hollow Victory

Three months had passed since the fall of Sigma's last fortress. The remains of his Maverick army crumbled in the absence of their master, fields of their dead lying around in areas of the countryside now.

Roll stood with her back to X for a moment, both of them watching as the area around them was lit slightly with the remains of plasma fire.

"Hey, sis?" X asked idly, his eyes constantly moving even though his voice was calm.

"Yeah, Mega?" Roll replied, never quite ridding herself of her habit of the old days. Her blonde hair blew about in the wind uncontrolled, the three stripes in her hair having gained several additions in the past few months, an additional red stripe with blocks of black mixed in, as well as a solid black stripe, and two new white stripes.

"What exactly do _you_ think has happened to Zero?"

"What kind of answer do you expect to a question like that?" Roll replied, her voice almost cracking even as her eyes maintained their vigilant shifting across their surroundings.

"I'm not sure. I'm still trying to come to grips with it myself." X replied, relaxing slightly as he saw no sign of any more attackers.

"Trying to come to grips with what part of it?" Roll replied, leaning back slightly against her brother.

"The whole thing, his wife, his kid, _especially_ the kid. I'm honestly not sure what to think of that one. Knowing that the kid's father is a Reploid adds a very confusing twist to it." X replied, his response somewhat slow.

"I think it's a good thing. It shows that us Reploids can blend in perfectly with humans, other than our lack of health problems and obvious long life." Roll replied lightly.

"Yes, but it adds its own problems to things as well." X commented as he started walking through the battlefield, checking the debris for signs of anything unusual.

"What do you mean?" Roll queried as she walked along beside him, the occasional small plasma burst firing from either of their busters as they found several barely surviving Mavericks struggling to take one last shot at them.

"Well, the humans, in spite of their well known health issues, were able to nearly overpopulate the planet at one point. What happens with Reploids? We don't age, we don't die other than lack of maintenance, or a violent end. We could easily begin to overpopulate the planet ourselves within a matter of three or four generations at most I would think." X replied as he kicked at a pile of broken parts, a small gem-like object glowing at him from beneath the rubble.

"Looks like you found what we came for." Roll commented as she watched him lift the blue sphere.

"Yep, sure does. Let's go home" X ordered lightly as they both turned into beams and were zapped to their headquarters.

"Incoming teleport beams" Alia shouted as Roll and X touched down in the middle of their main operations room. Signas stood and saluted the two of them, receiving a salute back from X, and a wave from Roll as they quickly walked off of the teleportation pad that they had installed shortly after Sigma's fall. X merely tossed the blue sphere at Alia who quickly inserted it into a round indent on her workstation. The ball lit up and began to float and spin above the indentation, picking up speed and beginning to make a light whirring noise as it did so.

Crystal walked in from the main doors, carrying hers and Zero's child with her gently as she walked past X and the others, moving up near Alia's workstation as the sphere began to project a hologram.

"I'm guessing you guys are wondering where I am." Zero's voice rang out through the room before the image was even fully formed. Finally the hologram solidified, showing Zero standing alone over a cliff, his armor still black, odd waves of energy seeming to move under the surface even though he stood still as a statue.

"Well, I wish I could tell you. But I don't feel I can just yet. This…power. It won't seem to go away at will like my other power levels would. I feel that I'm no longer safe around everyone else, until I have regained control over this new facet of my abilities. Zero and I, we've talked about it a few times now. I'm a liability to the team, and to my family until I can quiet this ability down to a controllable level. Even now, standing here on this cliff, I can feel the energy pent up inside of me, ready to explode at a moment's notice. I feel like a bomb, waiting to go off at the setting of an unknown trigger. Were that I were a normal human being again…or just a normal Reploid for that matter. But if I were, I couldn't have done what I've done, nor could I have saved my family. Crystal would've died in that fortress, and our child along with her. And I'd have never forgiven myself."

The image of Zero turned to face straight at the camera for a moment. Only Crystal seemed able to notice a small tear track down the side of the S-Class Hunter's face. "I'm sorry, but please don't try and use Light's scanners to find me. I'm masking my presence from them anyway, plus I'd only show up as a field of distortion on your scanners. Until I'm sure I can control this energy well enough to not be a danger to those I've fought alongside of, and that I love, I will _not_ bring myself near you."

X jumped as he suddenly heard the sound of plasma fire from off to the side of the projection, Zero merely stepping backwards to avoid the blast as it slide between him and the camera. "Plus, in destroying Sigma, I seem to have gained quite the…cult following one could say. It seems that somehow with his last few moments, Sigma put some sort of signal or command through to the Mavericks. They all attack me on sight. I cannot bring such a menace home to my family. I've literally had to fight through armies on several occasions already."

Roll gasped lightly as she watched Zero come under sudden heavy fire, the energy in his system immediately jumping out and forming a shield around him, deflecting each and every shot. The view began to show heavy static for a moment before calming back down as the energy coalesced into a more solid form, a blade of energy extending from Zero's forearm.

"As you can see, the forces which come after me are only slightly less than what we fought inside of Sigma's fortress," Zero commented as he turned as slashed what looked like another copy of Wheel Gator in half with the energy blade. A piece of what seemed to be one of Storm Eagle's wings flew across the screen after he stepped out of view for a moment. As he walked back over, he knelt in front of the camera. "I'm sorry I can't come home to you yet Crystal. When I can do so safely, then you will see me again. I love you." He made a motion to shut the camera off, the small delay allowing them to see as a wave of plasma fire hit his side, making him growl in slight anger before the view cut off.

With that the hologram replay shut down quickly. Even X was somewhat shocked at his friend's resolve. Roll was holding Crystal, patting her consolingly as Alia snaked her way under X's arm, a habit she had picked up from watching Crystal do it to Zero back when he had been with them. Zenton stood from his place near the back wall.

"I don't care what he says. I'm looking for him anyway." Zenton declared, his voice cracking slightly as emotions he hadn't known he could show surfaced. Toronto merely nodded his approval as several of the others made similar confirming motions.

"I hate to break this to you folks, but the only time I can track him at all," Light commented as he brought his face and a map up on the main view screen, "is when he's fighting. And even then, I can only tell because that field of distortion becomes absolutely massive. I'm not sure exactly what happened to his systems, but when he lets that field loose, it causes a distortion in my sensors over a mile wide."  
Alia sighed in desperation as X moves up and begins to speak animatedly to Light, his arms waving with each sentence as he speaks.

"If that's the case Doc, then we'll just have to start beaming down into the middle of every field of distortion we come across. I will _not_ see his child growing up fatherless. It's possible that you can somehow help him stabilize that energy pattern. He doesn't have to deal with it alone."

"I agree wholeheartedly X, except for one problem." Light's statement caused several looks of confusion. "Actually, it may be several problems. But first and foremost, I have absolutely no idea what that field of distortion will do to _my_ circuits if we bring him in this room. And not to sound vain, but if my circuits go down, we just lost our headquarters, because without me here at all, this place shuts down. Nothing works at all."

X's look switched to defeat quickly at that notion.

"However, if he can get within range of the base, I may be able to scan him via the external sensors, if they can get enough range and he can keep the energy completely controlled. Otherwise, the distortion field will keep me from being able to scan him at all."

X's usually calm responses are thrown out the window as he slams his fist into the wall beside him, causing a horrendous grating sound as the metal gives way to his armored hand, Crystal jumping slightly, Alia turning and suddenly hugging herself to X, tears rolling down her face silently. His anger is quickly drained away as he wraps his arms around her and holds her tight.

"Are you sure there's nothing we can do about it right now, Doc?" He asks quietly, already sure of the answer himself.

"Nothing we can do that would allow us to remain confident in our ability to hold our base of operations from the Maverick swarms. There are still far too many of them to even think that we stand a chance with my auto-defenses down. It would be a rather…well, pointless thing to regain Zero, only to lose his family that he was trying to protect, because our defenses weren't up and we got attacked while dealing with his new powers. Plus Zero seems to be almost afraid to make contact with anyone he knows and cares about, as he's not sure the energy field cares if anyone is friend or foe."

"Very well," X stated as his face took on the resolved look that all who knew him were so familiar with. "If we can't bring him here to help him, then all I can do is try to make sure things are made as safe as possible, as quickly as possible. After all, if the Maverick threat is no longer a threat, then we wouldn't have to worry about the defenses."

Six months later…

X stands and stares at the devastation of yet another battlefield, having teleported in the moment they had noticed the field of distortion. What he finds disheartens him once again.

He lets out a loud curse as he slams his fist into a pile of dead Maverick bodies, sending most of them flying off a good several yards. The air around him glows slightly as his frustration builds yet again.

"How the hell is it that he can take out an entire army of Mavericks, every time, in less time than it takes us to detect the energy output and get me teleported? Every time!" X shouts uselessly as he backhands yet another pile of bodies.

He looks up a moment as he hears a buster charging, turning and avoiding the blast radius barely as he rolls to the side, the blue plasma trail leaving a heat trail behind it. "_Only busters made by Light do that…_" he thought as he tried to make out the assailant through the dust cloud kicked up by the plasma blast. He quickly aims and releases a level 5 blast from his own buster, not able to make out the identity of his attacker before the dust cloud clears and they have disappeared.

"Well, that was unusual to say the least," he comments to himself as he begins the preparations to return to base.

"X to Hunter HQ."

"Go ahead, X" Alia responds quickly.

"This battlefield is clear," he replies, pausing slightly before his next words. "No sign of Zero, other than the aftermath. We'll have to be quicker next time" He watches around him as he is teleported out.

Well…that's it, sort of…the end of my first story, after _way_ more time than I originally intended when I started it. And yes, I left a great many details rather vague, as I'm intending to do a sequel, but I'm not _exactly_ sure of what direction I want it to go.


End file.
